Walt Disney Co. said Thursday that it extended the contract of Chairman and CEO Bob Iger through December 2021, locking in a 16-year run for the entertainment executive.
The announcement came as Disney announced its $52.4 billion deal to buy much of 21st Century Fox's media assets. It appears to rule out a 2020 presidential candidacy for Iger, which some observers had been expecting.
Terms of his contract extension were not available. In fiscal 2016, Iger's total compensation was $43.9 million.
Disney said Iger was staying "at the request of both 21st Century Fox and the Disney board of directors."
Iger, the company's chief executive since 2005, had been set to vacate his post at the end of June 2016, but in 2014 his contract was extended two years. In March, it was extended again _ through July 2, 2019 _ to give Disney more time to find a successor.
Few internal candidates for the post have emerged and it seemed increasingly likely the company would look for an outside candidate. The Fox deal, which will take an estimated 18 months to complete, could introduce a new pool of potential candidates for the top job, perhaps even James Murdoch, Rupert Murdoch's ambitious younger son. However, Disney has not offered Murdoch a place in its empire yet.
Any candidate would have big shoes to fill.
Iger has already orchestrated three multibillion-dollar acquisitions that have transformed Disney, not including Fox: Pixar Animation Studios in 2006, Marvel Entertainment in 2009 and Lucasfilm in 2012. Those deals have provided the company with lucrative franchises such as "Star Wars" and "The Avengers."
