The board of directors of the Walt Disney Co. will meet on Monday (Jan. 23, 2006) to decide the fate of the proposed buyout of Pixar Animation Studios, the LOS ANGELES TIMES reported. The stock transaction would be in the neighborhood of $6.7 billion, The WALL STREET JOURNAL reported. A deal would make Pixar ceo and Apple chief Steve Jobs a board member and biggest shareholder with a 6% stake. Shares of both companies rose slightly Thursday. Some analysts feared that such a deal would dilute Disneys earnings for several years; others suggested that the strategic advantages of purchasing the Emeryville, California-based animation powerhouse would far outweigh the stock dilution in the short term. Still, other analysts cautioned that the buyout might still be rejected in favor of a new distribution deal.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
