Bob Iger Tells Disney Town Hall Hiring Freeze Still In Effect, No New Acquisitions Planned & Not Merging With Apple
28.11.2022 - 22:35
/ deadline.com
“There is a lot to do,” Bob Iger told Disney staffers today of the state of the company he is now running again. “Quickly,” added the newly re-minted CEO at a town hall at the company’s Burbank HQ heralding his official return.
The 71-year old self described “Boomerang CEO” also said that the hiring freeze his pink-slipped predecessor Bob Chapek announced on November 11 is still in place. Offering his perspective from being outside the company for most of the past year after 47 years at Disney and ABC, Iger told staffers additionally that rumors of a merger or deal with Apple were just that — “pure speculation.” The man who bought Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm and Fox for Disney during his last stint as CEO also noted that the House of Mouse wasn’t looking to make anymore big ticket acquisitions any time soon.
The Apple scenario gained traction nearly two decades ago during the CEO tenure of Steve Jobs, with whom Iger enjoyed a close business and personal relationship. In reality, though, Apple has never pursued major M&A deals, its largest being its $3 billion purchase of Beats in 2014. What’s more, most of Disney’s traditional holdings would likely be unattractive to a large-scale tech firm, and the size and complexity of any transaction would be exponentially greater than Amazon’s absorption of MGM (a deal that also sparked curiosity about Disney and Apple).
Held in front of a crowd at Disney’s main corporate campus, the town hall was also livestreamed today for employees around the globe. Taking questions after a breezy 5-minute introductory speech in which he talked about his time away, the importance of creativity at Disney’s core, and being an “eternal optimist,” Iger joshed that his wife pushed him to exit
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