Thursday, April 27, 2006, 06:00 pm

Jobs says Pixar sale means more time for Apple

By AppleInsider Staff

Apple Computer chief executive Steve Jobs said on Thursday he has no interest in becoming an executive at Walt Disney, which will soon complete its acquisition of the mercurial CEO's other company, Pixar Animation Studios, reports The Associated Press.

In fact, Jobs told shareholders at Apple's annual shareholders meeting that he plans to spend more time at Apple after he relinquishes his chief executive job at Pixar when the studio's merger with Disney closes in two weeks.

Asked whether he ever wanted to lead Disney given his growing influence in digital media, Jobs reportedly quipped that he had no interest in being Disney's Michael Eisner.

Jobs said he understood concerns that he would soon be spending more time at Disney, but "that couldn't be further from the truth," he said. "It'll require less of my time than Pixar did."

Disney's upcoming, $7.4 billion purchase of Pixar will land Jobs a seat on the Disney board and make him the company's largest shareholder.

Also on Thursday, a preliminary tally of votes during the Apple meeting showed that its shareholders re-elected the company's seven board members and rejected a proposal by environmental advocates to study how Apple could improve its recycling program.

During the meeting, Jobs also told shareholders to look our for an exciting new Macintosh television ad campaign that will begin airing next week.

Ad: Only a few more days to own a piece of Pixar.