The Disney/Pixar merger has now been finalised. Pixar shareholders have voted in favor of the motion for the $USD7.4 Billion deal to go ahead.
The vote makes Pixar a wholly owned subsidiary of Disney and makes former Pixar Chief Executive
Steve Jobs Disney’s single largest shareholder with about a 7 percent stake.The deal is squarely aimed at restoring Disney’s luster as a leader in the animated film business. Disney’s own efforts have faltered over the past 10 years while Pixar’s films have been huge successes.
says this Yahoo! News article.
Jobs was named to Disney’s board as a non-independent member. He had already said he would cast his Pixar shares, which represents 40 percent of the company’s outstanding stock, in favor of the merger. Shareholders met briefly in San Francisco to ratify the deal.
Under the plan, Pixar shareholders will exchange each of their shares for 2.3 shares of Disney stock.
As part of the deal…
John Lasseter, who was Pixar’s executive vice president, becomes chief creative officer of the animation studios and principal creative adviser at Walt Disney Imagineering, which designs and builds the company’s theme parks.
Ed Catmull, who was Pixar’s president, will now serve as president of the combined Pixar and Disney animation studios, reporting to Iger and Dick Cook, chairman of The Walt Disney Studios.
Steve Jobs, the CEO of Pixar, becomes the single largest shareholder of Disney. However Jobs says he has no interest in becoming an executive at Disney nor Senior Manager.
You can read more about the event here.
Last modified: May 6, 2006