Jobs sells Pixar to Disney! See Post#34 (1 Viewer)

[mattCR]

Yep, good deal that it's done.

Now I'll be the jerk and note I published speculation here before anyone, and the final deal before I saw it anywhere..

 

[MatthewA]

I just don't know what to say. I'm speechless. This will become either the most brilliant business coup or the most expensive murder/suicide pact of all time.

I'll be watching...

 

[Malcolm R]

Still, just having Pixar product now released solely as a "Disney" product just makes me cringe.

From a marketing advantage, it solves the "is it Pixar, or is it Disney" dilemma. Now no one will know, as it will all be Disney product.

 

[Edwin Pereyra]

No, the latter has already been taken by AOL/Time Warner.

~Edwin

 

[Edwin-S]

Ahhhh! A 7 billion dollar buyout of Pixar.....just in time for Pixar's first big bomb. That Jobs really is a smart cookie and Iger should be looking for a new job about this time next year.

The only thing holding back Disney animation is bean counters and the "Disney" brandname which has become a creative "millstone" around the animation department's neck. Now that Pixar is becoming Disney I expect that "millstone" to start affecting their output as well.

 

[Joseph S]

Jobs just added a bunch of Disney shorts to iTunes.

 

[Patrick.C]

And if Bill Gates comes calling with check book in hand ready to buy AOL/Time Warner, I'm just going to give up.

 

[Chuck Mayer]

Interesting news. I"m excited about the prospect of JL being put in charge of Disney animation. That could be a very good thing.

We'll see what such a relationship yields.

 

[Edwin Pereyra]

So far, any discussions with Bill Gates is just that - exploratory. I would think that Bill Gates knows what a big mess this merger was in the midst of the internet bubble. Breaking it up as four separate companies as Steve Case had suggested might not be a bad idea or just divest AOL altogether. Time Warner's stock is down 75% since the AOL merger.

Anyway, as to the Disney/Pixar merger, I think this is a good thing for both companies as long as the principles of the merger, business and creative content are all continued to flourish between the two companies.

~Edwin

 

[Allen Hirsch]

There's a story in today's Wall St Journal that says John Lasseter kept the discussions/negotiations going between Pixar and Disney, even when Jobs and Eisner were very publicly feuding, in part b/c it made Lasseter sick to think Disney "owned" all the Pixar characters to do crappy sequels as they wished.

So the work on Toy Story 3 (which I'm sure Lasseter will see to it is squelched) indirectly made this Pixar/Disney deal happen.

Great side-story: had pizza with Lasseter a couple years ago. My wife asked him what he does with all his Oscars. He said he has a friend who made a series of doll costumes for them - they change them for every season/holiday, and that way the Oscars stay on their mantle, but "change" with the seasons and holidays.

 

[Ricardo C]

Forget all this Pixar vs. Disney stuff...

Steve Jobs now owns Disney.

Wrap your mind around THAT one...

 

[DavidPla]

That's probably the best news to come out of this deal.

 

[Paul McElligott]

It's now called iDisney.

 

[Timothy Alexander]

What I find great about the whole thing is that this isn't just some normal big company aquiring another company and nothing coming from it. Disney didn't just add Pixar to the list of subsidiaries they own, they are pretty much banking their entire future on Pixar and putting it's top players in major spots all over the company. I see nothing but great things out of all this. Wouldn't surprise me if one day we see "Disney-Pixar Entertainment" on any and all Disney productions.

 

[Ricardo C]

iDisney

Timothy, I sure hope so It seems Disney has the right idea and is absorbing Pixar's spirit rather than remolding Pixar in its own image. It takes guts for the corporate behemoth to openly let its smaller acquisiton become its teacher, but it looks like it's happening

But man, Steve Jobs on the Disney board... If the anecdotes posted at folklore.org are accurate, there should be some interesting meetings ahead

 

[Tim Glover]

iDisney? Got to love it...

 

[Paul McElligott]

Welcome to Pixarland, the Happiest Place on Earth!

 

[Adam Sanchez]

How about "Pixney?"

 

[Paul McElligott]

Even better.

 

[WadeLil]

Well im glad to see a deal that should have happened the moment they saw how well TOY STORY did.Oh well better late than never.