Pixar

[Brian in Mesa]

Is Pixar Eyeing a Return to Disney?
Source: The New York Times
November 15, 2004

With Pixar's The Incredibles pulling in big numbers at the box office, and with only one more film (Cars) to go in their current distribution deal with Disney, attention has once again turned to what's ahead for the animation company.

Pixar chief executive Steve Jobs tells The New York Times that the company will not pounce on the success of The Incredibles to strike a new distribution deal. "We are not going to make a decision until the last possible moment," Jobs said.

Jobs says a major reason why are the changes in executive positions at the studios in upcoming months. Sherry Lansing, Paramount's chairwoman, recently said she would leave when her contract ends in 2005, and Disney chief executive Michael Eisner will retire when his contract ends in September, 2006.

Jobs has always favored a deal with Disney. Eisner's successor is to be announced by next June, and Pixar could renew talks then - but only if the money is right, executives from both companies say. Jobs reportedly says that two other studios could give Pixar the type of distribution support they are looking for: Warner Bros. Pictures and 20th Century Fox.

 

[Chaplin]

I am crossing my fingers for Warner Bros.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

Disney, Pixar Talks Seen Likely After Eisner Exit

Mon Mar 14, 2005

By Gina Keating

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Pixar Animation Studios Inc. likely will reopen talks on a distribution deal with the Walt Disney Co. now that Disney CEO Michael Eisner is set to depart in September, analysts said on Monday.

Eisner, who will be replaced by Disney President Robert Iger, was seen as the main stumbling block for Disney to renew its lucrative partnership with Pixar because of his turbulent relationship with Pixar Chief Executive Steve Jobs.

Pixar, which produced such blockbuster films as "Toy Story," "Finding Nemo" and "The Incredibles" in its partnership with Disney, was also seen as holding a better bargaining position with Iger at Disney's helm.

"I just think this puts a lot of pressure on the Walt Disney Company," Fulcrum Global Partners analyst Rich Greenfield said. "Bob Iger, once he takes over, will be faced with this negotiation as one of his first acts as CEO ... Disney needs (Pixar) very badly."

Greenfield said Jobs would likely press his advantage to get better terms than he could have squeezed from Eisner. Pixar films have taken in about $3 billion at the box office worldwide, and Disney has had the bigger share of profit.

"The pressure is on Disney, not Pixar," Greenfield said.

Last month, Jobs told analysts that Pixar "likely ... will not forge a new relationship with Disney beyond our current deal," but did not elaborate about how far talks with Disney had progressed or where else Pixar might look for a partner.

Pixar has pushed back its target date for finding a new distributor a number of times and said that "musical chairs" in Hollywood was part of the reason, giving some hopes that a new Disney deal was possible.

Anthony Sabino, a business and law professor at St. John's University in New York, warned that Pixar would play an important part in helping Iger win the board's confidence.

"One of his top priorities and maybe his top priority has got to be to reach out to Pixar and negotiate with them again," Sabino said.

Lehman Brothers analyst Anthony DiClemente called the development at Disney "not ... a huge surprise to Pixar investors" and in a research note said a deal was "less likely" between the two companies.

Pixar's partnership with Disney expires with the June 9, 2006, release of its seventh film, "Cars," and it must have a new distributor in place before its eighth film is released in summer of 2007.

Pixar spokesman Tom Sarris on Monday said the company had no further comment on the distributor search or about developments at Disney. Sarris would not say whether Jobs and Iger had ever met.

Shares of Pixar closed up $1.98, or 2.2 percent, at $90.96 on Nasdaq.

 

[Pariah]

doesn't Disney's in-house computer animation studio have a movie coming out this summer that will compete with a pixar movie? I read somewhere that if the movie does well, they'll likely stand on their own, if not, an acquisition is in order.

I could have Disney confused with another studio, though.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

Disney in Talks to Acquire Pixar?
Source: Reuters, Chris
January 19, 2006

The Walt Disney Company is in serious talks about an acquisition of Pixar Animation Studios, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The newspaper report said terms under discussion would have Disney pay a small premium to Pixar's current stock market value of $6.7 billion. The deal would be a stock transaction and make Pixar Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs the biggest individual shareholder in Disney.

The talks are at a sensitive stage and other options are possible, including an agreement for Disney to distribute Pixar movies, the report said.

The companies have been partners since Pixar began making feature films with Toy Story. Currently Pixar and Disney split costs, and Disney effectively has sequel rights to Pixar films.