Sony to buy Pixar?

[raidermatt]

I doubt it, but here it is:


Pixar shares jump on Sony buyout talk
By Russ Britt, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 11:23 AM ET Feb. 19, 2004

LOS ANGELES (CBS.MW) -- 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.

Pixar (PIXR: news, chart, profile) climbed $3.64, or 5.5 percent, to $69.45. Analysts said a trading rumor hit the market floor that Sony (SNE: news, chart, profile) 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.

Pixar has captured the attention of just about every Hollywood studio now that it has severed ties with longtime distribution partner Walt Disney Co. (DIS: news, chart, profile) Sony, Warner Bros. (TWX: news, chart, profile) and News Corp. (NWS: news, chart, profile) (FOX: news, chart, profile) have been named as possible partners when Pixar goes shopping.

This is the first mention, however, of a studio possibly bidding for Pixar, which has a market cap of roughly $3.8 billion. At $75 a share, the deal would be worth $4.1 billion

The tiny company, based in Emeryville, Calif., has made roughly $3 billion on five films, each of them considered a hit. They are: "Toy Story," "A Bug's Life," "Toy Story 2," "Monsters Inc." and last year's biggest film, "Finding Nemo."

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.

"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.

Russ Britt is the Los Angeles Bureau Chief for CBS.MarketWatch.com.

 

[DisneyKidds]

Highly doubt it.

 

[KNWVIKING]

If Jobs were to sell Pixar off to Sony for some mega sum of money, what would prevent him from simply opening up a new version of the same company -Pixar2 so to speak. As a CGI business the actual brick,mortor and computors are relatively inexpensive - at least when compared to the price tag of a new E-ride- and easy to replace. He could easily hire away his employees an -viola- Sony owns nothing more then a brand name and yesterdays computors.

 

[raidermatt]

He could easily hire away his employees an -viola- Sony owns nothing more then a brand name and yesterdays computors.

The talent is the only issue. I'm can't remember how long Lasseter is inked for, but I think its awhile. If Sony owns the contract, I don't think he could just leave and go work for Pixar2.

Anyway, I don't think Jobs would go through the hassle of re-starting a CGI company from scratch, gambling that he could get the talent back when it became available. Instead he just wouldn't sell in the first place.

As I said, though, I doubt it. Still, somebody thinks it might, so I thought it worth posting.

 

[DancingBear]

According to Pixar's 2003 10-K:

In March 2001, we entered into an employment agreement with John Lasseter (the “Employment Agreement”), which has a term of 10 years.

Nobody's gonna buy Pixar without Lasseter. And Jobs isn't going to sell Pixar and then start another CGI business---he'd just move on.