Amid ongoing rumors and speculation over a potential sale of The Walt Disney Company to Apple, CEO Bob Iger is refusing to entertain the discussion.

Iger Not Interested in Sale Rumors

When asked about recent reports suggesting the transaction could occur at the 2023 third quarter earnings call, Iger simply brushed it off and noted he wasn’t interested in obsessing over the notion.

I’m not going to speculate about the potential for Disney to be acquired by any company, whether it’s a technology company or not. Obviously, anyone who wants to speculate about such things would have to immediately consider the global regulatory environment. I’ll say no more than that. It’s not something we obsess about.

Rumors of a potential Apple takeover of Disney started to swirl in November 2022, shortly after Bob Iger’s return to the company as CEO. Reactions to the rumor varied, but the potential magnitude of such an acquisition prompted many to question its feasibility.

It is Disney’s recent efforts to downsize their television offerings that signal a potential sale could be on the horizon, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Iger shared his openness to the idea of selling a portion of Disney’s television assets during a July appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” even concluding that linear TV “may not be core to Disney.“

The company took initial steps toward the potential shrinking in late July, with Iger reportedly bringing former top Disney executives Tom Staggs and Kevin Mayer back as consultants to assist with television strategy. Staggs, Disney’s former COO and CFO, and Mayer, the former lead of Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer & International (Disney’s streaming arm), left the company in 2019 and 2020, respectively. The two partnered in 2021 to launch Candle Media.

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