Disney To Consider Buying Pixar in $7bn deal

[Kristiano]

Interesting news for all iPod and digital media fans. I wonder what this means...

http://www.latimes.com/business/cust...home-headlines
From the Los Angeles Times
Jobs Stands to Gain from Disney-Pixar Deal
By Dawn C. Chmielewski
Times Staff Writer

7:07 PM PST, January 22, 2006

What does Steve Jobs want?

With Walt Disney Co.'s board scheduled Monday to consider whether to buy Pixar Animation Studios, Jobs, the mercurial visionary whose iPod transformed the way Americans consume entertainment, is being compared to Disney's late founder, the mercurial visionary whose theme parks sparked similar change half a century ago.

Like Walt Disney in his day, 50-year-old Jobs is a perfectionist known to fuss over the number of buttons on a computer mouse. Jobs is a college dropout; Disney never finished high school. And with Pixar's mastery of computer-generated movies such as "The Incredibles," Jobs has taken the animation that Disney first popularized in the 1930s and not just re-energized it, but made it box-office gold.

If Disney acquires Pixar, Jobs would join the company's board of directors, own the largest individual stake and become, by far, the most recognizable face on the company's corporate roster -- potentially overshadowing Chief Executive Robert Iger.

At present, "Disney doesn't have a guy who shakes the walls, a larger-than-life character like Walt," said Jeffrey S. Young, co-author of the Jobs biography "iCon Steve Jobs: The Greatest Second Act in the History of Business."

Jobs, a co-founder of Apple Computer Inc., has the brash confidence to assume that role. But if he does, the man who once shaved his head and begged for alms in his search for enlightenment stands to inherit more than the mantle of the company's lionized founder.

People who know Jobs and analysts who have tracked his companies for years say the potential deal is notable less for what it would mean for Disney than for how it would expand the reach of Jobs.

"Let's be clear: Steve's not in this for the money," said analyst Tim Bajarin, who watched Jobs unveil the first Macintosh computer in 1984. "It's his original vision of doing something that would change the world that's important. This is another step in seeing him influence that vision and goal."

Jobs declined to be interviewed for this story, as did several of his closest friends.

Venture capitalist Michael Moritz once commented: "Almost everybody has an opinion of Steve Jobs, but very few people know him." That's because Jobs is a master at controlling his own image.

Often featured on magazine covers wearing a trademark black turtleneck, Jobs has long been more famous than the market share of his companies would seem to justify. His products are innovative, but they don't always sell.

A savvy marketer with a keen eye for design, Jobs nevertheless has had to fight to rebuild Apple's share of the personal computer market, which is slightly less than 4 percent. And with big technology competitors lining up to challenge iPod, he cannot afford to assume that his company's must-have gadget of the moment will remain top-of-mind forever.

That, some believe, is part of what's driving him to consider selling Pixar, whose seventh movie, "Cars" -- due in theaters this summer -- is already rumored to be the animation studio's best film yet.

Selling Pixar to Disney would give Jobs two things he dearly wants, say those who have made it their business to study him. First, it would show the world that the entertainment empire needed his scrappy animation house to compete. Second, it would free him up to concentrate on the company that will cement his legacy as an innovator: Apple.

"His interest is in either power or cultural impact," said Alan Deutschman, author of the biography "The Second Coming of Steve Jobs." The proposed sale would give him a little more of both.

Analysts said Jobs' instincts as a tech guide could help Disney navigate the digital media landscape to find new ways of distributing its movies and television shows.

"Historically, you have lot of great content minds at Disney and Viacom and all the media conglomerates," said Anthony Valencia, a media and entertainment analyst at TCW Group. "But there's also been a big hesitation to try new things, and there's been a lot of inertia at the big media companies. One thing I don't think anyone has accused Steve Jobs of is inertia."

Since taking the reins from Michael Eisner in October, Iger has been vocal about the company's need to embrace technology, particularly where it can boost profit.

At Disney, Jobs conceivably could make a play to be named a vice chairman, a title Roy E. Disney had when he was the company's largest individual shareholder, or even a non-executive chairman when former Sen. George Mitchell leaves that post at the end of this year.

Whatever his title, Jobs would have considerable clout simply because of Pixar's box-office dominance.

[RndmManiak]

good for you.

[Macromedia]

Interesting. Pixar has made some pretty good movies. I wonder what apple will focus on now after they sell pixar.

[Kristiano]

Apple doesn't own Pixar...

[iMacc]

Jobs owns Pixar Macromedia.


Interesting article, a good read.

[Macromedia]

Opps. Now I know that Jobs owns pixar. Not Apple...

[Nickster]

Maybe he could convince them to co-release movies in the theaters and on the iTunes store. That would make me happy =)

[skateboarderx24]

an apple theme park.. now that would be.. neat

[ipodphoto30]

i think it's pretty interesting that a man of power like steve jobs would sell pixar to disney. Well pixar is under disney, so why not? BTW i loved the toy story series the most from pixar.