DISNEY - WEINSTEINS MAY BUY BACK MIRAMAX NAME

WEINSTEINS MAY BUY BACK MIRAMAX NAME

Harvey and Bob Weinstein are planning to make a bid to regain the Miramax brand name, following Disney's decision to shutter the unit's New York headquarters, dismiss its president, and drastically reduce its staff, TheWrap.com reported Monday, citing unnamed individuals close to the Weinsteins. The website said that the Weinsteins are planning to make a direct appeal to Disney CEO Robert Iger to allow them to buy the name, which they coined in 1979 after the names of their parents, Miriam and Max. According to the website, the Weinsteins had originally appealed to former Disney CEO Michael Eisner to allow them to take the name when they left Disney in 2004 but that Eisner, "in an ungenerous mood," declined. If Iger agrees to sell the name, the website said, the two brothers would drop The Weinstein Company as the name of their company and change it to Miramax.

03/11/2009