Rumors for months have claimed that Disney is in a financial crisis. Speculation that Disney may have to sell of Star Wars, Marvel, and ven other popular pieces of their company. According to ABC 11, Instead of selling off parts of the company, Disney is investing in another market. Disney CEO Bob Iger announced during an earning call that Disney is investing 1.5 Billion in the Epic Games.
Epic Games is the company that created the ever-popular video game, Fortnite. This North Carolina-based company will partner with Disney to bring future games to life.
There are plans for a new virtual reality universe. Speculation is this virtual reality universe will have characters and stories from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars.
Josh D’Amaro, Chairman, Disney Experiences. “Epic Games’ industry-leading technology and Fortnite’s open ecosystem will help us reach consumers where they are so they can engage with Disney in the ways that are most relevant to them.” (ABC 11)
If Disney was looking for something to get their shareholders excited, this seemed to do it. Shares jumped 7% after this news broke. Is this making up for less-than-stellar returns on their movie investments of the last couple of years? We will see. For now, this seems to alleviate some fears of a Disney fire sale. We will see if holds it off or if this is a temporary bounce for stockholders.
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