Disney acquired Pixar in 2006, bringing Pixar into The Walt Disney Company.
The all-stock transaction was announced on January 24, 2006, and completed on May 5, 2006. It valued Pixar at about $7.4 billion and made Pixar part of Disney’s studio entertainment operations.
The deal combined Disney’s global distribution and marketing system with Pixar’s computer-animation expertise. Pixar’s chief executive, Steve Jobs, became Disney’s largest individual shareholder and joined Disney’s board, while Pixar leaders Ed Catmull and John Lasseter took important creative and technological roles.
This was an acquisition rather than a merger of two equally named companies, a distinction sometimes blurred in casual descriptions. Pixar continued operating as a distinct animation studio, producing films such as Cars, Ratatouille, WALL-E and Up under Disney ownership.