Could this be the surprise Hollywood happy ending in which Nemo finds his way back to Disney after all? The lucrative tie-up between Pixar Animation Studios Inc. , creator of last year’s blockbuster animation hit ‘Finding Nemo,’ and the Walt Disney Co., which threatens to end after next year with the recent collapse of talks, might still be saved if Comcast Corp.’s bid to buy Disney is successful, some executives said Wednesday,” Ben Berkowitz reports for Reuters.
“Comcast took the $50 billion all-stock bid for Disney directly to the public after Disney Chief Executive Michael Eisner rejected proposals for a friendly merger earlier this week. ‘I have reason to believe that if Michael Eisner were gone, you could do a deal with Pixar on acceptable terms,’ Stanley Gold, a former board member and ally of Walt Disney nephew and fellow ex-board member Roy Disney, said on a conference call with investors. ‘I think (Comcast) or others could probably do that if Michael is gone,'” Berkowitz reports.
“Steve Burke, a former top Disney executive and now the president of Comcast Cable, said there was an opportunity for Disney to stay allied with Pixar if the merger was consummated. ‘We could potentially reignite talks with Pixar,'” Berkowitz reports.
Full article here.
I often see Comcast Cable commmercials with Powerbooks and Imacs displaying the speed and benefits of using their service. They do my heart good. I’ll bet that Disney’s stock would go through the roof because of a perceived alliance with Jobs.
Will Apple take them back after the recently announced deal with Micro$haft?
This is very interesting news.
Turkey: You’re thinking of Pixar, not Apple.
Bye Eisner you are so GONE!
No matter what happens Eisner’s days as CEO of Disney are over.
The deal with MS is not exclusive, so what kind of a deal is it?
I would prefer it if Roy Disney got the company back, but as long as we don’t have to endure Lion King 4, I’ll mark it down as progress.
neomoney: If I remember correctly, it’s not exclusive for MS (i.e. other studios can join the “alliance” with MS), but exclusive the other way around (i.e. Disney won’t sleep with someone other)
I heard Steve is taking over MIcrosoft… so it all makes sense… if you think about it…
Heh. This is what Steve Jobs was waiting for. March 3rd, I guess hell was going to freeze over.
Can Comcast do the deal fast enough for Pixar to have not signed up with someone else?
BTW, my 3 year old can tell the difference in quality between Pixar’s work and Disney’s. After seening Nemo in the theater 3 times, when she got the DVD she watched it another 3 times _in a row_. Last night with Lion King 1 1/2, should quit half way through.