Disney is looking for an M&A lawyer for its Web3 plans

A new job posting on LinkedIn revealed that The Walt Disney Company is looking to hire a transaction lawyer working at an “accelerated and aggressive timeline” to explore new technology opportunities, like the metaverse, DeFi, and NFTs. The media conglomerate looks to expand into Web3 territory focusing on “next generation storytelling.” Meanwhile, Walmart sells NFT-linked comic books to make digital assets more ubiquitous.

The new job advertisement said that the employee would “partner with business teams as they plan new global emerging technology projects” across additional segments like decentralized finance and metaverse.

“Assist in performing due diligence for NFT, blockchain, third-party marketplace and cloud provider projects, and negotiating and drafting complex agreements for those projects,” the statement added.

The post was published on LinkedIn on Sept. 24. The new lawyer will work in Disney’s legal department of its corporate transaction unit and should have at least five years of experience managing and running complex corporate transactions, preferably at a large multinational law firm with an internationally recognized corporate practice. Such transaction lawyers typically review M&A deals and other complex business dealings.

On Sept. 10, Disney CEO Bob Chapek, speaking at the D23 Expo fan convention, said that the company is exploring and developing plans for the metaverse, Deadline reported. In June, the Mickey Mouse conglomerate hired a long-time Apple executive as vice president of “Next Generation Storytelling Creative Experiences,” and the following month, moved a consumer experiences executive to a position as executive vice president in its “Next Generation Storytelling & Consumer Experiences.”

“We call it next-gen storytelling,” Chapek said at the expo in Anaheim. “We tend not to use the M-word too often because it has a lot of hair on it.”

Disney is not the only brand to get into NFTs. Recently, the pop culture retailer Funko has teamed up with Warner Brothers and the US retail giant Walmart to sell NFT-linked comic books, The Block reported. Each book cover will be available as a physical item with a digital counterpart, otherwise known as a “phygital.”

Funko CEO Andrew Perlmutter admits that this opportunity with Walmart provides a good way to test how the NFT business can expand into physical retailers. A common superstore in the US, Walmart selling NFT-linked physical goods helps to make this type of asset more common.