Marvel Entertainment Chief Executive Isaac “Ike” Perlmutter received options for 1.27 million shares of Marvel stock in the weeks Marvel studio head David Maisel had begun discussions with the Walt Disney, Co., which eventually resulted in Disney’s pending $4 billion agreement to buy Marvel (see “Comics Merging with Hollywood, continued”).  The options were revealed in a filing submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission by Disney.  SEC filings indicate that neither Perlmutter nor Marvel's board knew about the Disney deal when the options were granted.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Perlmutter stands to earn more than $34 million on the options he received after talks with Disney had begun.  The options allowed Perlmutter to purchase the Marvel stock at prices ranging from $23.15 to $25.86.  With Disney agreeing to pay $50 for each share of Marvel stock, the options allowed Perlmutter to basically double his money.

The $34 million Perlmutter will receive from the options in question is a drop in the bucket compared with the $1.44 billion in cash and Disney stock that the reclusive Marvel CEO (there are no photos of Perlmutter available online) will receive if the deal goes through.