Disney-Pixar deal nearing

Disney is planning to announce as early as Tuesday the acquisition of Pixar Animation Studios in a stock transaction valued at about $7 billion, according to The New York Times. The report says that Disney's board voted to give the chief executive, Robert A. Iger, the authority to offer Pixar CEO Steve Jobs about $59 a share, a slight premium over Monday's closing of $58.27, and would give Jobs a seat on Disney's Board. However, the deal was not quite sealed, as the report says that "all of the people briefed on the negotiations cautioned that the deal could fall apart at any time. "This is tricky," one said. "All of the things have to be just right." Several crucial details were still being hammered out Monday, including the employment contracts for certain Pixar executives, among them John Lasseter, Pixar's chief creative officer who is expected to oversee the animation unit that would become part of Disney's filmed animation division.

by MacNN Staff