Disney's former longtime CEO Bob Iger has revealed that the Walt Disney Company and Apple Inc. held preliminary conversations about a potential merger. The disclosure came during a wide-ranging interview with the Financial Times, published shortly after Iger officially stepped away from his executive role at Disney for the second time.
According to Iger, the discussions were exploratory in nature and never progressed to serious negotiations. “We talked about it internally, and we had some conversations with Apple about it, but it never went anywhere,” Iger said. When asked why the talks stalled, he added, “Well, Apple didn’t show that much interest.”
Iger has long been a proponent of the idea that a merger between the two companies could have reshaped the media and technology landscapes. In his 2019 memoir The Ride of a Lifetime, he wrote that he believed such a deal would have been inevitable if Apple co-founder Steve Jobs were still alive. Jobs, who was both a friend of Iger and Disney’s largest individual shareholder (through his ownership of Pixar), had a unique relationship with both companies. Disney acquired Pixar in 2006 for $7.4 billion, a deal that placed Jobs on Disney’s board and made him a key figure in the company’s strategic direction.
Iger’s latest comments provide a rare glimpse into the backchannel discussions that took place during his tenure. The former CEO was known for his aggressive acquisition strategy, which saw Disney buy Pixar, Marvel Entertainment in 2009 for $4 billion, Lucasfilm in 2012 for $4.05 billion, and the majority of 21st Century Fox in 2019 for $71.3 billion. Each of these purchases transformed Disney into a dominant force in entertainment, but Iger apparently saw Apple as the ultimate prize—a merger that would marry content creation with cutting-edge hardware and services.
The idea of an Apple-Disney combination has fascinated analysts and fans for years. Apple, with its massive cash reserves (over $200 billion at times), could have theoretically purchased Disney outright. A merger would have given Apple ownership of iconic franchises such as Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and the Disney princesses, while Disney would gain access to Apple’s distribution platforms, including the iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, and the App Store. It would also have strengthened Apple’s streaming service, Apple TV+, by adding a vast library of beloved content and a premier content studio.
However, Apple has historically been cautious about making large acquisitions. The company’s biggest deal to date remains the $3 billion purchase of Beats Electronics in 2014. While Apple has acquired numerous smaller companies for technology and talent—such as Siri, NeXT (which brought Steve Jobs back), and more recently the chip design arm of Intel—it has never shown an appetite for a mega-merger in the entertainment space. This reluctance aligns with Iger’s characterization of Apple’s response to the merger proposal.
Iger’s reflections also touch on another tech deal that fell through: the potential acquisition of Twitter in 2016. At the time, Iger was seriously considering buying the social media platform, but he ultimately backed out, worried that managing Twitter’s content moderation challenges and public discourse would be a distraction for Disney. “I got cold feet,” he admitted. “It could have been a huge distraction for the company.”
The revelation of the Apple-Disney talks adds a new chapter to the history of near-miss mega-mergers in the tech and media industries. Other notable examples include Comcast’s attempts to acquire Disney in the early 2000s, and the recent failed merger of AT&T’s WarnerMedia with Discovery (which ultimately succeeded after regulatory approval). The Apple-Disney discussion, though never formalized, underscores the strategic thinking of both companies during a period of rapid convergence between technology and entertainment.
Since Iger’s departure, Disney has been navigating a challenging landscape under CEO Bob Chapek (and briefly Iger again after Chapek’s ouster), dealing with shifting consumer habits, the rise of streaming, and the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Apple, meanwhile, has continued to grow its services business, with Apple TV+ winning awards for original content like Ted Lasso and CODA.
From a historical perspective, the relationship between Apple and Disney has always been intertwined. Walt Disney himself was a pioneer in animation and theme parks, while Steve Jobs was a visionary in personal computing and mobile technology. The two companies even collaborated on the Disney+ launch, with Apple offering a bundle of Apple TV+ and Disney+ at a discount. But Iger’s latest interview suggests that the possibility of a full merger—once considered a fantasy by many—was seriously discussed at the highest levels.
Industry experts have debated whether such a merger would have been beneficial. Proponents argue that it would have created a vertically integrated giant capable of competing with Netflix, Amazon, and Google. Critics, however, point to potential antitrust concerns and cultural clashes between the two corporate cultures. Disney is a century-old media conglomerate with a focus on storytelling and family entertainment, while Apple is a hardware and software company known for its design ethos and premium pricing.
Iger’s willingness to discuss these sensitive talks publicly may be a sign that he feels liberated from corporate confidentiality now that his tenure is fully concluded. The Financial Times profile also covers Iger’s views on the future of streaming, his regrets over the Fox acquisition (which many consider overpriced), and his admiration for Netflix’s strategy. “I think streaming is a great business, but it’s not easy,” he said.
For now, the prospect of an Apple-Disney merger remains a what-if scenario. With Iger out of the picture and Tim Cook leading Apple, the likelihood of such a deal seems low. Apple continues to focus on organic growth and incremental acquisitions, while Disney works to stabilize its streaming business and revitalize its theme parks after the pandemic slump. Still, Iger’s comments have reignited public curiosity about what could have been the largest media and technology merger in history.
As the media landscape continues to evolve, the idea of a union between a content powerhouse and a distribution giant remains alluring. Whether it will ever happen is uncertain, but Bob Iger’s revelation confirms that the idea was seriously entertained—if only for a brief moment.
Source: 9to5Mac News