World's Largest Entertainment Company Disney's CEO May Sell It To Apple, Claims Company Insider

It's been a rollercoaster of a month for the world¡¯s largest entertainment company Walt Disney Co. Shortly after the company dumped its CEO Bob Chapek and brought back former CEO Bob Iger, rumours are suggesting that the new CEO may sell the company to tech giant Apple.

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Upon his return to the company, Iger will get about $27 million annually under a new two-year deal. He will receive a base salary of $1 million and a bonus equal to that amount, according to a filing by the company last week. In addition, he¡¯ll receive stock awards with a target value of $25 million each year, as per Bloomberg.

And now that CEO Bob Iger is back at Disney less than three years after his chosen successor, Bob Chapek, took over, insiders suspect they know how the beloved 71-year-old CEO will find a new way to go out on top during his final two-year stint.

Landing a deal with Apple (or some other mega buyer) would also cement Iger¡¯s legacy. ¡°I think he¡¯d welcome it ¡ª he¡¯d be the last CEO of Disney,¡± a former top Disney executive told American news website TheWrap, noting that the two companies have ¡°similar brand identities¡± and could benefit from a merger.

¡°He¡¯s going to sell the company,¡± one Disney insider who has worked forCEO Iger predicted. ¡°This is the pinnacle deal for the ultimate dealmaker.¡±

As per The Wrap¡¯s report, acquisitions are in Disney CEO Iger¡¯s DNA. Under Iger¡¯s leadership, Disney went on a nearly $100 billion shopping spree to buy animation giant Pixar in 2006, superhero juggernaut Marvel in 2009, ¡°Star Wars¡±-powered Lucasfilm in 2012 and Rupert Murdoch¡¯s 21st Century Fox in 2019. But there was one acquisition he¡¯s publicly lamented as a transformational deal that got away, a combination with the tech powerhouse Apple.

Disney CEO¡¯s Friendship With Steve Jobs

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In Iger¡¯s 2019 autobiography ¡°The Ride of a Lifetime,¡± he reportedly wrote chapters about his friendship with Steve Jobs. He and his wife, Willow Bay, were close friends with Steve Jobs and Laurene Powell Jobs, even spending holidays together and vacationing in Hawaii. He even writes about standing in front of Steve Jobs¡¯ grave when the tech visionary¡¯s wife uttered: ¡°I asked him if we could trust you. And Steve said, ¡®I love that guy.¡¯?¡±Iger responded: ¡°The feeling was mutual.¡±

Yes, there are caveats, chief among them that Apple¡¯s former CEO Steve Jobs died in 2011. And Disney is a big pill to swallow, with a $180 billion market valuation that would easily soar to a $200 billion premium if the studio were to be acquired by Apple, as per the report.

Also Read: The Company That Made Steve Jobs A Billionaire For The First Time

Apple CEO Tim Cook¡¯s 'Hint'?

Apple CEO Tim Cook, who is otherwise known to be a safe player with relatively few acquisitions under his leadership, might have given Wall Street a big hint in April. During a call with investors, Cook had reportedly said he would not rule out acquiring a large company, and that the main drive was to secure strong intellectual property and big names.

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¡°We are always looking at companies to buy, we acquire a lot of smaller companies and we¡¯ll continue to do that for IP and to incorporate talent,¡± Cook had said, as per the report. ¡°We don¡¯t discount something larger if the opportunity presents itself. I¡¯m not going to go through my list with you on this call, but we¡¯re always looking.¡±

As per the report, Apple, which has been tinkering with a grab in the streaming space with hits like ¡°Ted Lasso,¡± certainly has the financial firepower to pull off an acquisition of this size. Not to mention that Apple shares have skyrocketed since Iger and Jobs first did business together.

Disney bought the Steve Jobs-run Pixar in 2006 for $7.4 billion, which put the animation studio¡¯s CEO on the entertainment company¡¯s 10-member board. On the day the deal was announced, Apple was trading at about $3 a share and Disney at $25.

Apple is now trading around $150, up more than 240% in the past five years, and its currently the most valuable company in the world, with $2.3 trillion market cap. On the other hand, Disney, at a share price hovering around $98, is down 6% during that same period.

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Now it remains to be seen whether this highly anticipated Apple-Disney deal comes true, which may be widely expected to be sealed or at least announced till the time Iger serves as the Disney CEO for the next two years.

Also Read: From Elon Musk To Mark Zuckerberg-Why Do The 'Rich CEOs' Take $1 Salary

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