Apple And Disney Could Have Merged If Steve Jobs Were Still Alive

Dhir Acharya - Sep 19, 2019

'I believe that if Steve were still alive, we would have combined our companies. Or at least discussed the possibility very seriously,' Iger wrote.

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Disney and Apple could have had a completely different future if Steve Jobs were still alive, Bob Iger – Disney CEO – revealed in his upcoming memoir released on Wednesday. Iger, while recounting the close friendship between him and Jobs as well as the $7.4 billion acquisition of Pixar dated back 2006, said that they talked several times each week.

Iger wrote:

Iger said that acquiring Pixar turned the table for Disney Animation’s fortune. However, he had to try to convince Jobs to believe in the values of this purchase by listing the pros and cons in an Apple board room, Cupertino. Initially, Jobs feared that the acquisition would ruin Pixar’s culture while the distraction would kill its creativity.

Iger said to Jobs at that time that Pixar would have saved Disney and they would have all lived happily forever.

Iger also discussed acquiring Marvel with $4 billion with Steve Jobs.

He wrote:

Jobs called Ike Perlmutter, who then became Marvel’s CEO and controlling shareholder, helping push through the acquisition of Marvel, according to Iger.

In summer 2011, Jobs said to Iger that they had saved two companies, he passed away in October the same year.