Disney CEO Bob Iger Addresses Rumor Apple May Purchase Company

On Wednesday, a new report suggested that the sale of The Walt Disney Company to Apple could be a real possibility and now, Disney CEO Bob Iger is addressing the rumor. During Disney’s quarterly earnings call on Wednesday, Iger said that he wasn’t going to speculate about the potential for Disney to be acquired by “any company” and said that it wasn’t “something that we obsess about.”

“I just am not going to speculate about the potential for Disney to be acquired by any company whether they’re a technology company or not,” Iger said. “Obviously anyone who wanted to speculate about such things will happen immediately consider the global regulatory environment, I’ll say no more than that. It’s not something that we obsess about.”

Earlier in the day The Hollywood Reporter shared a new report in which, according to several analysts that spoke with the outlet, such a deal was possible. The idea of an Apple-Disney merger is one that has come up several times over the years but has never actually happened with many still thinking that it is unlikely — in part due to regulatory obstacles that could arguably stand in the way.

What Hurdles Could Stand In the Way of A Hypothetical Apple-Disney Buyout?

A major potential hurdle to any sale would be regulatory. Under the Biden administration, the FTC and the Justice Department have been more active in seeking to play major corporate mergers, successfully stalling Paramount’s sale of Simon and Shuster to Penguin Random House and unsuccessfully attempting to prevent Microsoft from buying Activision Blizzard.

Both cases are relevant to legal issues that may come up in a suit against an Apple-Disney deal. In Simon and Shuster’s case, the FTC won using a monopsony argument, stating that the merger would leave authors with too few options for where to sell their work. That same argument could be levied against a merger that offers fewer outlets for television and film distribution, though Disney could divest of some of the studio assets it obtained in its acquisition of 20th Century Fox to help combat that tactic.

Iger Also Addressed the Ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA Strikes

Also, during the earnings call, Iger addressed the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Iger had previously made headlines for calling the strikes’ goals “not realistic” but his new comments take a bit of a different stance on the subject, saying that he is “personally committed” to finding a resolution.

“And speaking of the content we create, I’d like to say a few words about the ongoing strikes,” Iger said in part. “Nothing is more important to this company and its relationships with the creative community, and that includes actors, writers, animators, directors and producers. I have deep respect and appreciation for all those who are vital to the extraordinary creative engine that drives this company and our industry. And it is my fervent hope that we quickly find solutions to the issues that have kept us apart these past few months, and I am personally committed to working to achieve this result.”

What do you think about Bob Iger’s comments regarding the Apple rumor? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.