Marvel Entertainment

Marvel Entertainment, LLC (formerly Marvel Enterprises and Toy Biz, Inc., and marketed and stylized as MARVEL) is an American entertainment company founded in June 1998 and based in New York City, formed by the merger of Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc. and ToyBiz. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, and is mainly known for its Marvel Comics. Marvel Animation and Marvel Television units are now under Marvel Studios, which was formerly under the Marvel umbrella, became a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Studios, where it develops and produces a shared universe of films that shares continuity with some of the shows produced by the television unit.

In 2009, The Walt Disney Company acquired Marvel Entertainment for US$4 billion;  it has been a limited liability company (LLC) since then. For financial reporting purposes, Marvel is primarily reported as part of Disney's Consumer Products segment ever since Marvel Studios' reorganization into Walt Disney Studios.

Over the years, Marvel Entertainment has entered into several partnerships and negotiations with other companies across a variety of businesses. As of 2019, Marvel has film licensing agreements with Sony Pictures (for Spider-Man films) and Universal Pictures (a right of first refusal to pick up the distribution rights to any future Hulk films produced by Marvel Studios), and theme park licensing agreements with IMG Worlds of Adventure and Universal Parks & Resorts (for specific Marvel character rights at Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Japan). Aside from their contract with Universal Parks & Resorts, Marvel's characters and properties have also appeared at Disney Parks.