New Disney CEO Iger Gets High Marks for Pixar Deal

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Walt Disney Co Chief Executive Robert Iger got high marks from investors on Tuesday for pursuing an acquisition of Pixar Animation Studios Inc in a deal that most said could not have happened under the watch of Iger's predecessor, Michael Eisner. Iger, who announced the $7.4 billion acquisition of Pixar on Tuesday, moved quickly since becoming CEO last October to shore up fractured relations with Pixar chief Steve Jobs, displaying a confidence in his new role after years of being seen as Eisner's junior partner. "It goes to show you he has a comfort factor with the power he has at Disney," said Mario Gabelli of Gabelli Asset Management Co. Although some analysts expressed concern that Iger and Jobs could clash after Jobs takes a Disney board seat, investors and analysts said the Disney chief had done well to bring the dynamic Pixar and Apple Computer Inc boss into the Disney fold. "There's no second guessing how valuable Jobs is. Putting him in a new context ups his ability to influence things," said Harris Nesbitt analyst Jeffrey Logsdon. Gabelli said "the personalities can work." Iger, who came to Disney with its acquisition of Capital Cities-ABC television, is more accustomed to a "collegial" business environment than Eisner was, Gabelli said. Jobs himself moved to dispel fears that he would push Iger aside, telling Reuters that there were "probably better people in the world" to become the next Disney board chairman and telling CNBC that the takeover showed that Pixar was "buying into" Iger's vision rather than the other way around. Harold Vogel, of Vogel Capital Management, also said Iger was "off to a very good start" with his efforts to buy Pixar. "I give Bob Iger tons and tons of credit for taking this on and working in the interest of shareholders," Vogel said as investors waited for confirmation of the deal. "It's a pretty impressive transaction. It's small (in financial terms) but it's large for Disney in terms of change in culture and what it can do for Disney around the world."