Disney To Acquire Pixar Animation

By Rich Drees

     January 24, 2006- Ending nearly two years of negotiations and squabbling, Walt Disney Studio Chief Executive Robert Iger announced today that the entertainment conglomerate would be acquiring computer animation studio Pixar in a stock deal worth $7.4 billion.

     As part of the deal, Pixar head Steve Jobs – also the founder and head of Apple Computers – will take a seat on Disney’s Board of Directors, while Pixar President Ed Catmull will serve as president of both Pixar’s and Disney’s animation studios. Pixar Executive Vice-President John Lasseter will hold the dual positions of Chief Creative Officer for both studios as well as Principal Creative Advisor for Walt Disney Imagineering, the division that designs Disney’s theme park attractions.

     Previously, Disney had a deal with PIXAR wherein Disney distributed the compute animated films including Toy Story, A Bug’s Life and The Incredibles produced by Pixar. This deal was set to expire with this June with the release of Pixar’s Cars. Early negotiations to renew the deal fell apart, in part due to conflict between Jobs and Disney’s former chief Michael Eisner.

     After Iger took the reigns of Disney over from Eisner last October, one of his first items of business was to renew negations with Pixar and Jobs. This past weekend Disney’s Board of Directors gave Iger permission to go ahead and make an offer to buy Pixar.

     "Disney and Pixar can now collaborate without the barriers that come from two different companies with two different sets of shareholders," said Jobs in a statement released following thye announcement. "Now, everyone can focus on what is most important, creating innovative stories, characters and films that delight millions of people around the world."

     Pixar originally started out as the computer division George Lucas’s Lucasfilm Ltd. and was purchased by Jobs in 1986 for $10 million. When poor sales of the company’s high-end computers threatened to put the company of business, employee Lasseter began using the computers to create short animated films to demonstrate the computer’s power. The shorts’ popularity paved the way for first commercial work and eventually feature films.