Disney Buys Pixar

By the early 2000s, Pixar was the most creatively valuable studio in Hollywood and Disney was its struggling distribution partner, with the contract expiring and the relationship between Michael Eisner and Steve Jobs famously toxic. Pixar held the leverage. When Bob Iger took over as Disney CEO in 2005, one of his first calls was to Jobs, and instead of opening with a price he flew to Cupertino to rebuild a relationship Eisner had torched. In 2006, Disney paid about $7.4 billion, and the press immediately debated whether it had overpaid.

For founders and operators, this is a case about deals that expand the pie rather than split it. Iger walked in asking what Jobs actually wanted, which turned out to be bigger than a royalty check. It sharpens the decision underneath every important negotiation: understanding what the other side values most when it differs from what you value, and finding the trade that costs you little but matters enormously to them.