CHICAGO, June 22 -- Comic-book giant Marvel Entertainment announced Wednesday a wide-ranging alliance with video-game producer Acclaim Entertainment.
Terms of the multi-year deal, announced on the day before the opening of the Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago, were not disclosed. It calls for Acclaim to co-develop and publish video games based on Marvel properties and gives Acclaim exclusive rights to The Fantastic Four and Iron Man.
The companies also agreed for Acclaim to distribute properties under the Marvel Software label for the next several years, including Spider- Man and Wolverine.
Marvel stock gained 62.5 cents to $19.875 a share in trading on the New York Stock Exchange while Acclaim was off $1 to $15.50 in Nasdaq trading.
The move comes as entertainment companies scramble to obtain the rights to widely known characters that can appeal to both children and adults. Analysts have noted that even Walt Disney Co., the owner of the largest group of character properties, went to the trouble of buying the Muppet characters several years ago.
Earlier this week, Marvel announced a deal with MCA Inc. to make Marvel characters such as Spider-Man and X-Men a major part of the upcoming expansion of MCA's Universal Studios Florida theme park. The characters will be transformed into rides, shows and attractions at a proposed new park in Orlando, Fla., due to open in 1999.
The MCA-Marvel partnership also includes plans for themed retail outlets featuring licensed Marvel merchandise, which will also be installed at other Universal theme parks in the United States and overseas.
Marvel is the nation's largest comic book publisher, and also the creator of the Fox network's 'X-Men,' currently the top children's animated show on television. A Spider-Man movie, directed by James Cameron, is also in the works.
The Marvel-MCA agreement is the latest in a series of entertainment industry deals made by Revlon owner Ronald Perelman, who also owns 80 percent of Marvel.
Last month, Perelman orchestrated a deal with Rupert Murdoch's Fox Broadcasting Co. which gave the Fox network 12 new affiliates, at the expense of the older TV networks, in exchange for a $500 million investment in Perelman's New World Communications.
Last week, Perelman hired former NBC entertainment chief Brandon Tartikoff to run New World's production operations, which includes the development of new Marvel characters for future Fox children's programs. Those characters will also fall under the terms of the new MCA-Marvel agreement.
Acclaim,of Oyster Bay, N.J., is one of the leaders in producing video games along with Electronic Arts, of San Mateo, Calif.
'We are pleased to expand our relationship with Marvel and look forward to further broadening the popularity of the Marvel Universe in the interactive entertainment marketplace,' said Robert Holmes, president of Acclaim.
Acclaim also reported Wednesday earnings of $8 million, or 18 cents a share, for its third quarter ended May 31, up sharply from earnings of $4.9 million, or 11 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. Sales were up to $89 million from $56.9 million.
