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WTF Pixar? Jobs?

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  • #1

    WTF Pixar? Jobs?

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    The board of Pixar Animation Studios, the digital animations company, is set to meet tomorrow to approve the company's $7bn (£3.9bn) takeover by Disney.

    The all-share deal will make Steve Jobs, the chief executive of Apple, around $3.5bn and the single largest shareholder in Disney. Jobs created Pixar in 1986 when he paid $10m for the computer animations division of Lucasfilm, owned by Stars Wars creator George Lucas.

    Disney has struggled to compete with its rival's cutting-edge computer animated films, which have become increasingly sophisticated over the past few years.

    Disney already has a distribution agreement with Pixar, which is due to expire in June. Pixar's summer blockbuster is a film called Cars, while its previous hits include A Bug's Life, Finding Nemo, Monsters, Inc, Toy Story and The Incredibles.

    Disney's first computer--generated film, Chicken Little, was released in the US in November and currently has worldwide box office sales of $279m.

    But the giant entertainment company has failed to produce a hit animated film of its own in years. By contrast, the six films that Pixar and Disney have made together since the 1995 release of Toy Story have grossed more than $3.2bn.

    Despite the impending takeover of Pixar, Robert Iger, the chief executive of Disney, pledged in November that "animation is, and will remain, at the heart and soul of Disney".

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  • #2
    Visit First Cultural Industries
    There are reasons why I believe mankind should live in cities and let nature reclaim all the villages with the exception of a few we keep on display as horrific reminders of rural life.-Starchild
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    • #3
      So will Pixar became stale and bland, or is Jobs going to use Pixar's creativity to jumpstart Disney, while at the same time pushing more of Disney's (and everything they own) content onto the iTunes Store?

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      • #4
        I guess this deal would make Jobs a 6% shareholder in the combined Disney company. Hmmm... Hardly a dominating position, to be sure. Probably wouldn't stop Disney from making Toy Story 5 or some of the other crap coming out of the company lately.
        I came upon a barroom full of bad Salon pictures in which men with hats on the backs of their heads were wolfing food from a counter. It was the institution of the "free lunch" I had struck. You paid for a drink and got as much as you wanted to eat. For something less than a rupee a day a man can feed himself sumptuously in San Francisco, even though he be a bankrupt. Remember this if ever you are stranded in these parts. ~ Rudyard Kipling, 1891

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        • #5
          He could always try to force Disney's radio holdings into iTunes only podcasting.
          "Yay Apoc!!!!!!!" - bipolarbear
          "At least there were some thoughts went into Apocalypse." - Urban Ranger
          "Apocalype was a great game." - DrSpike
          "In Apoc, I had one soldier who lasted through the entire game... was pretty cool. I like apoc for that reason, the soldiers are a bit more 'personal'." - General Ludd

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          • #6
            Actually, as long as Disney is smart enough to leave Pixar alone when it comes to creative control, this seems like a win-win deal.

            Disney is way, way behind in the computer-animation game; Pixar, Dreamworks (which itself was just bought by Paramount), and Fox all staked out CG animation turf while Disney was still banking on 2-D. Aquiring Pixar gives them a way to enter CG animation without having to enter a crowded marketplace. Very smart.

            As for Pixar, they've now got instant access to the gigantic Disney/CapCities distribution pipeline and merchandising machine. Looks like a pretty sweet deal all around.
            "I have as much authority as the pope. I just don't have as many people who believe it." — George Carlin

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            • #7
              A recurring storyline...

              Everyone should read the accounts of the meetings Jobs had with Jeffrey Katzenberg when the latter was in charge at Disney. Katzenberg had Jobs and Pixar by the balls and didn't hesitate to pull hard. I guess the boot is on the other foot now.

              Same as Apple. They boot him out and then a decade later he makes them pay him billions of dollars to let him take over the company.

              I guess the record companies better not whine too much about iTunes pricing: otherwise he might end up running the big five.
              Only feebs vote.

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              • #8
                Originally posted by Verto
                So will Pixar became stale and bland, or is Jobs going to use Pixar's creativity to jumpstart Disney, while at the same time pushing more of Disney's (and everything they own) content onto the iTunes Store?
                Jobs doesn't have the same totalitarian control over Pixar as he does over Apple. Pixar is effectively run by John Lasseter, who is the company's chief asset.

                Jobs' main contributions to Pixar were bankrolling it for years after he bought it from George Lucas and being there to make the important deals when they needed to be made.
                Only feebs vote.

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                • #9
                  I think it's a smart buisness move. May not be the best artistic move as they will now have to do movies about racist bull**** and mommy killers, but still... When you see what happened to Dreamworks, it takes more than talent to keep a company a float.
                  Monkey!!!

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Agathon
                    I guess the record companies better not whine too much about iTunes pricing: otherwise he might end up running the big five.
                    /me crosses fingers
                    meet the new boss, same as the old boss

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                    • #11
                      Pixar has a high P/E ~40. True they make a good product, but how much growth can we really expect out of them?

                      Anyway, I think the deal stinks, because I don't really think the talent at Pixar is scalable. The only way it makes sense is if Pixar was going to take the distribution elsewhere. The synergies already exist through the distribution deal. Given the P/E and the low growth potential is it really a good deal?
                      Accidently left my signature in this post.

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                      • #12
                        I think it's an excellent deal, especially with the state Disney has been in recently (awful). I don't know about Pixar, but Disney is excellent at Merchandising. Buying Pixar will give them a great source.

                        Besides, I don't think a PE of 40 is all that high in this day in age
                        Monkey!!!

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