Disney Might Be Sold to Apple, Sources Claim; What Could That Even Mean?
You heard us right: Disney CEO Bob Iger is reportedly looking to sell the company to Apple. Here's what this merger would mean for the industry.
Bob Iger who was recently reappointed as the CEO of Disney has already made up his mind about selling the company's TV assets — and now, rumor has it, he's looking at selling the entire company to Apple, the world's dominating tech giant. If such a merger actually happens, it will reshape the industry in many different ways.
First (and most obvious), it will create the most terrific streaming colossus the world has ever seen, adding Disney's never-ending library of content and expertise in its creation to Apple's gigantic distribution network and near-infinite resources. Since Tim Cook's company already has Apple TV, the addition of Disney's whole package will immediately make Apple the biggest player.
Second, the merger will help Disney finally reach certain massive markets it hasn't managed to infiltrate just yet — China, for example.
While Disney failed to be at home there, Apple has a strong presence in the country; after the deal is sealed, Mickey and his friends will get into the Chinese market in no time, boosting the company's economy tenfold.
Thirdly, merging two companies often comes with massive job losses, and this one may lead to a catastrophe. Both Apple and Disney are huge employers, and having them cut down on their work force due to the consolidation of operations would create thousands upon thousands of unemployed.
However, it's important to remember that so far, there has been no official confirmation of negotiations taking place, and these are mostly rumors. Even if the two companies decided to proceed with this merger deal, it's entirely possible that the US regulators prohibit them from doing so due to the sheer size of the market share they'd take up together. The regulators have already prevented similar mergers from happening based on the anti-trust regulations in the past.
If somehow, Disney and Apple manage to pull this off, though, this merged monster will be able to dictate most of the market.
Source: Bloomberg via Marca