• NY Times, Tuesday, January 24, 2006 11:01 AM

A number of publications, including The New York Times, are reporting that the Walt Disney Company is poised to announce a bid for Pixar Animation Studios, possibly today. Sources say the Disney board has approved an offer of about $59 a share for Pixar, valuing the company at nearly $7 billion. That would, at once, make Steve Jobs, Pixar's chief, Disney's largest shareholder and, according to reports, give him a seat on the Disney board.  While there are some who say that Michael Eisner, the former CEO of Disney, opposes the purchase at the proposed price, Robert Iger, his successor, appears to be in favor. For Disney, whose own vaunted animation unit has faltered, the acquisition of Pixar would add not just the luster of the industry's top animation company but also a promise of future characters for Disney's theme parks.

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