Disney CEO Bob Iger and Apple founder Steve Jobs had a long-standing relationship. Iger and Jobs negotiated Disney’s purchase of Pixar, which allowed the animation studio to maintain its autonomy. Iger also knew before anyone else that Jobs’ cancer had returned. It was a secret that he kept until the day Jobs died.
And Iger, who took the stage this week along with current Apple CEO Tim Cook to introduce Apple’s new Vision Pro virtual reality headset. Iger talked of the partnership between the two companies that would allow Disney+, immersive sports viewing, and new Disney interactions to stream on the headset.
As Iger talked, Disney’s stock, down nearly 10 percent since his earnings call in early May, jumped four percent. And it got analysts on Wall Street wondering, why should this be just a partnership, why not a merger with Apple buying the Walt Disney Company?
This isn’t the first time that the idea of Apple, the world’s largest company in terms of market cap, should purchase Disney. With its new Vision Pro, Apple needs the content and creativity that Disney brings to the table. For Disney, this would give their content, new life under Apple. It would also solve the mystery of who would be succeeding Disney’s Bob Iger.
Needham analyst Laura Martin said:
Apple needs to buy Disney to drive adoption of Vision Pro. The fact that Disney CEO Bob Iger was on stage touting Apple’s Vision Pro goggles demonstrates the compelling strategic fit between Disney’s content and Apple’s wearable technology. At $3,500, we expect adoption to be slow. However, if Apple buys Disney, its storytellers could create unique content to drive consumer adoption of Apple’s Vision Pro goggles.
Two issues to a potential merger exist the Parks and U.S. Federal regulators. Apple does not need Walt Disney Theme Parks worldwide, but as Disney’s most profitable division, finding a buyer for them wouldn’t be that difficult. U.S. Regulators would have to approve the deal, but a merger of his size has been approved before, with Comcast buying NBC/Universal.
Apple was able to see success in the early 2000s with the iPod and Apple Music. An Apple product with its content proved to be a money maker.
Combining Apple’s worldwide distribution and technology with Disney’s streaming services and creativity is exciting. It could work and make them both even more robust.
We will continue to update this story at Disney Fanatic.
