Technology : Macromedia Buying 6% Stake in Stan Lee Media

Web software maker Macromedia Inc. said Monday it will invest $5 million for a 6% stake in Stan Lee Media.

As part of the deal, Macromedia Chief Executive Rob Burgess will get a seat on the board of the Los Angeles company run by Stan Lee, the creator of Spider-Man.

Macromedia’s Shockwave unit will offer weekly episodes of Lee’s new animated series on its Web site beginning in January, Burgess said.

Macromedia had 4.22 million visitors to its site in September, according to Media Metrix.

“This is our closest relationship so far, in terms of our long-term partners,” Burgess said. “It’s going to be featured very prominently.”

Though Stan Lee Media is keeping its own site for other content, the distribution deal should broaden the fledgling company’s reach.

San Francisco-based Macromedia says that it has 5 million registered Shockwave users and that more than 180 million computers have downloaded its free Flash technology, which enables computer users to view animation that has been created using Macromedia tools.

The episodes in the first new Stan Lee series, “Seventh Portal,” will be five minutes long.

Stan Lee shares rose 31 cents to $7.19 on the Nasdaq Bulletin Board. Macromedia rose 81 cents to $61.69 on Nasdaq.