Disney to Decide on Pixar Buy Out

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Disneyis board of directors will discuss their options for the future of Steve Jobis other company, Pixar, in a regularly scheduled meeting on Monday. According to MarketWatch, there are several options available, ranging from a full buy out and take over, to purchasing a smaller stake in the animation company.

One of the options on the table has Disney purchasing Pixar, valued at around US$7 billion, and giving Steve Jobs enough Disney stock to make him the single largest individual share holder.

The proposed deal with Pixar does not involve Apple Computer. Despite the fact that Steve Jobs is CEO of both Apple and Pixar, the two companies are not tied together. Disney does, however, have other ties with Apple. It sells video programming through the iTunes Music Store (iTMS), including animated shorts from Pixar. ABC, a subsidiary of Disney, also sells some of its shows through the iTMS.

That division, according to the Wall Street Journal, could occasionally put Mr. Jobs in an awkward position. If he has a more active roll in Disneyis affairs, there is the potential that he could make decisions at one company that benefit the other.

Mr. Jobs has historically done a pretty good job of keeping his various business interests segregated. Richard Doherty, an analyst at Envisioneering Group, commented "He knows the boundaries of where youire supposed to operate."

There is no word yet on how a Disney buy out of Pixar would effect the available content at the iTMS.

Jeff Gamet

Jeff Gamet

Jeff is the Mac Observer's Managing Editor, and co-host of the Apple Context Machine podcast. He is the author of "The Designer's Guide to Mac OS X" from Peachpit Press, and writes for several design-related publications. Jeff has presented at events such as Macworld Expo, the RSA Conference, and the Mac Computer Expo. In all his spare time, he also co-hosts the We Have Communicators podcast, and makes guest appearances on several other podcasts, too. Jeff dreams in HD.

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