Analysts got to the point early and often during a conference call late Wednesday: What are Disney Chief Executive Robert Iger’s M&A plans, particularly following reports that former Disney executives Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs, now co-CEOs of Blackstone-backed Candle Media, have been retained in a “consulting capacity” to decide ESPN’s fate? There is even the unthinkable, unsinkable decades-old rumor floating about again: Could Apple Inc.
AAPL,
-0.90%
acquire Disney
DIS,
-0.73%,
as one Hollywood executive floated to the Hollywood Reporter?
The prospect of an Apple-Disney combo seems far-fetched in a heated regulatory climate, where the Federal Trade Commission is attempting to crack down on Big Tech acquisitions, but it could happen should Disney sell off assets and Apple gobbles up Disney’s direct-to-consumer business that includes streaming service Disney+, some media analysts speculate. Apple could conceivably even buy ABC, which reportedly is on the block. But the path is long and circuitous. Yet the rumors persist, dating back to Apple co-founder Steve Jobs’ reverence for the Disney brand, and the increasingly overlapping businesses of both companies over the years. When pressed by analysts during a conference call late Wednesday, Iger declined to discuss the future of Disney’s structure or possible asset sales. When asked specifically about Apple, an exasperated Iger said he would not “speculate” on the sale of Disney to a technology company or anyone else, given the current global stance of regulators. The FTC has aggressively chal …
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AAPL,
-0.90%
acquire Disney
DIS,
-0.73%,
as one Hollywood executive floated to the Hollywood Reporter?
The prospect of an Apple-Disney combo seems far-fetched in a heated regulatory climate, where the Federal Trade Commission is attempting to crack down on Big Tech acquisitions, but it could happen should Disney sell off assets and Apple gobbles up Disney’s direct-to-consumer business that includes streaming service Disney+, some media analysts speculate. Apple could conceivably even buy ABC, which reportedly is on the block. But the path is long and circuitous. Yet the rumors persist, dating back to Apple co-founder Steve Jobs’ reverence for the Disney brand, and the increasingly overlapping businesses of both companies over the years. When pressed by analysts during a conference call late Wednesday, Iger declined to discuss the future of Disney’s structure or possible asset sales. When asked specifically about Apple, an exasperated Iger said he would not “speculate” on the sale of Disney to a technology company or anyone else, given the current global stance of regulators. The FTC has aggressively chal …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]