dposse
01-24-2006, 05:38 PM
http://money.cnn.com/2006/01/24/news/companies/disney_pixar_deal/index.htm?cnn=yes
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Walt Disney has announced that it is buying Pixar, the animated studio led by Apple head Steve Jobs, in a deal worth $7.4 billion.
Speculation about a deal being imminent raged on Wall Street for the past few weeks. Disney has released all of Pixar's films so far, but the companies' current distribution deal was set to expire following the release of this summer's "Cars."
"Disney and Pixar can now collaborate without the barriers that come from two different companies with two different sets of shareholders," said Jobs. "Now, everyone can focus on what is most important, creating innovative stories, characters and films that delight millions of people around the world."
As part of the deal, Jobs will become a board member of Disney, the companies said. And John Lasseter, the widely respected creative director at Pixar who had previously worked for Disney, will rejoin the House of Mouse as chief creative officer for the company's combined animated studios and will also help oversee the design for new attractions at Disney theme parks.
"The addition of Pixar significantly enhances Disney animation, which is a critical creative engine for driving growth across our businesses," said Disney CEO Robert Iger in a written statement.
According to the terms of the deal, Disney (Research) will issue 2.3 shares for each Pixar share. Based on Tuesday's closing prices, that values Pixar at $59.78 a share, about a 4 percent premium to Pixar's current stock price. Shares of Pixar (Research) fell slightly in regular trading on the Nasdaq Tuesday but the stock has surged more than 10 percent so far this year on takeover speculation. Disney's stock gained 1.8 percent in regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange but slipped about 0.5 percent after-hours.
Prior to the deal's announcement,.some Wall Street observers had speculated that Disney may be paying too much for Pixar. But one hedge fund manager said that the risk of Disney losing Pixar was too great.
"The question isn't did Disney pay too much but how expensive would it have been for Disney if Pixar fell into someone else's hands," said Barry Ritholtz, chief investment officer with Ritholtz Capital Partners, a hedge fund that focuses on media and technology stocks.
Pixar has yet to have a flop with its six animated movies, which include "Toy Story," "Finding Nemo" and "The Incredibles." Disney, however, has struggled in the computer-generated animated movie arena. Even though its most recent CG-animated film, "Chicken Little" performed better than many had expected at the box office, it was not as big a hit as any of the Pixar films.
Wow. This is nuts. Steve Jobs is now in charge of three companies: Apple, Pixar, and Disney. Also, John Lasseter returns to help disney. What do you think of this deal? Will disney benefit from this and make a comeback?
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Walt Disney has announced that it is buying Pixar, the animated studio led by Apple head Steve Jobs, in a deal worth $7.4 billion.
Speculation about a deal being imminent raged on Wall Street for the past few weeks. Disney has released all of Pixar's films so far, but the companies' current distribution deal was set to expire following the release of this summer's "Cars."
"Disney and Pixar can now collaborate without the barriers that come from two different companies with two different sets of shareholders," said Jobs. "Now, everyone can focus on what is most important, creating innovative stories, characters and films that delight millions of people around the world."
As part of the deal, Jobs will become a board member of Disney, the companies said. And John Lasseter, the widely respected creative director at Pixar who had previously worked for Disney, will rejoin the House of Mouse as chief creative officer for the company's combined animated studios and will also help oversee the design for new attractions at Disney theme parks.
"The addition of Pixar significantly enhances Disney animation, which is a critical creative engine for driving growth across our businesses," said Disney CEO Robert Iger in a written statement.
According to the terms of the deal, Disney (Research) will issue 2.3 shares for each Pixar share. Based on Tuesday's closing prices, that values Pixar at $59.78 a share, about a 4 percent premium to Pixar's current stock price. Shares of Pixar (Research) fell slightly in regular trading on the Nasdaq Tuesday but the stock has surged more than 10 percent so far this year on takeover speculation. Disney's stock gained 1.8 percent in regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange but slipped about 0.5 percent after-hours.
Prior to the deal's announcement,.some Wall Street observers had speculated that Disney may be paying too much for Pixar. But one hedge fund manager said that the risk of Disney losing Pixar was too great.
"The question isn't did Disney pay too much but how expensive would it have been for Disney if Pixar fell into someone else's hands," said Barry Ritholtz, chief investment officer with Ritholtz Capital Partners, a hedge fund that focuses on media and technology stocks.
Pixar has yet to have a flop with its six animated movies, which include "Toy Story," "Finding Nemo" and "The Incredibles." Disney, however, has struggled in the computer-generated animated movie arena. Even though its most recent CG-animated film, "Chicken Little" performed better than many had expected at the box office, it was not as big a hit as any of the Pixar films.
Wow. This is nuts. Steve Jobs is now in charge of three companies: Apple, Pixar, and Disney. Also, John Lasseter returns to help disney. What do you think of this deal? Will disney benefit from this and make a comeback?