Disney is in serious talks about an acquisition of Pixar Animation Studios, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.The newspaper report said terms under discussion would have Disney pay a small premium to Pixar's current stock market value of $6.7 billion. The deal would be a stock transaction and make Pixar Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs the biggest individual shareholder in Disney, the newspaper reported. Jobs also is CEO of Apple Computer.
The talks are at a sensitive stage and other options are possible, including an agreement under which Disney would distribute Pixar movies, the report said, citing people familiar with the situation.
The companies have been partners since Pixar, based in Emeryville, Calif., made the feature film "Toy Story." Currently Pixar and Disney split costs, and Disney effectively has sequel rights to Pixar films.
Representatives for Disney and Pixar could not immediately be reached for comment.
