By Gary Gentile The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES – The Walt Disney Co. said yesterday it is buying longtime partner Pixar Animation Studios Inc. for $7.4 billion in a deal that could restore Disney’s clout in animation while vaulting Pixar CEO Steve Jobs into a powerful role at the media conglomerate.
Disney will buy the maker of the blockbuster films “Toy Story and “Finding Nemo” in an all-stock transaction that makes Jobs Disney’s largest shareholder. Jobs, who controls more than half of Pixar’s stock and also heads Apple Computer Inc., will also join Disney’s board.
“With this transaction, we welcome and embrace Pixar’s unique culture, which for two decades has fostered some of the most innovative and successful films in history,” Disney Chief Executive Robert Iger said in a statement.
Disney has co-financed and distributed Pixar’s animated films for the past 12 years, splitting the profits. But that deal expires in June after Pixar delivers “Cars.”
Disney, the theme park owner that also owns the ABC and ESPN TV networks, and Pixar have been talking for months about a new relationship.
Pixar Executive Vice President John Lasseter will become chief creative officer of the animation studios and principal creative adviser at Walt Disney Imagineering, which designs and builds the company’s theme parks.
Pixar President Ed Catmull will serve as president of the new combined Pixar and Disney animation studios, reporting to Iger and Dick Cook, chairman of The Walt Disney Studios.
“Disney and Pixar can now collaborate without the barriers that come from two different companies with two different sets of shareholders,” Jobs said in a statement. “Now, everyone can focus on what is most important, creating innovative stories, characters and films that delight millions of people around the world.”
With Pixar, Disney gains a company that has produced a long-running string of animated blockbusters, including “The Incredibles.”
Through Jobs, Disney will tightens its link with Apple Computer, the innovative technology company behind music and video iPods.
Disney is not acquiring a direct interest in Apple, but Jobs could help Iger push his plans to marry films, TV shows, video games and other content to computers, iPods, handheld game consoles and even cell phones.
Pixar has served as Disney’s de facto animation unit for a decade.
