“Shares of Pixar jumped more than 5 percent in early trading Thursday as word circulated that Sony Corp. is looking to buy the computer animation company,” Russ Britt reports for CBS.MarketWatch.com. “Pixar climbed $3.64, or 5.5 percent, to $69.45. Analysts said a trading rumor hit the market floor that Sony planned to make a bid for Pixar at $75 a share. The news also showed up as a short line in Briefing.com’s ‘Market Chatter’ page. Sony shares rose $1.25, or 3 percent, to $42.64.”
“Neither Sony nor Pixar officials were immediately available for comment. Analysts aren’t giving the idea much credence. Pixar Chairman and Chief Executive Steve Jobs controls 60 percent of the company’s floating shares, meaning he would want to give up control of the entity he’s nurtured,” Britt reports. “‘My opinion is that even if Sony offered $100 a share, Steve Jobs would reject the bid,’ said David Miller of Sanders Morris Harris. ‘He’s essentially the board.’ ‘I would find a Sony acquisition of Pixar to be highly unlikely,’ said Steve Lidberg of Pacific Crest Securities.”
Full article here.
