The Walt Disney Company has finally agreed to buy the comic book giant Marvel Entertainment for about $4 billion.

Under the arrangement, Marvel shareholders will receive a $30 a share in cash plus about 0.745 Disney shares for each Marvel share they own.

It should be noted that the boards of both companies have already approved the deal, which was valued at $50 a share. The approximate combined value of $50 per Marvel share represents around 29 per cent premium to Friday's closing price of $38.65 for Marvel.

With the acquisition, Disney will acquire more than 5,000 Marvel characters, including Spider-Man, Iron Man, the Hulk, the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, X-Men and Captain America, which are widely popular among young audiences.

The deal is expected to be closed by the end of this year.