SAN FRANCISCO — Pixar Animation Studios Inc.'s upcoming sale to Walt Disney Co. has inspired an audience of investors more interested in buying a piece of paper than a piece of the $7.4-billion deal.
All these people want is one of Pixar's stock certificates, the commemorative scrolls given to shareholders of the computer animation pioneer behind such hit movies as "Toy Story" and "The Incredibles."
Once Disney absorbs the company this spring, Pixar will stop issuing the colorful certificates decorated with "Toy Story" stars Buzz Lightyear and Woody -- just one of the reasons this particular piece of paper is so treasured.
"It's like a piece of art," said Brian Giboney, who recently added Pixar to his collection of stock certificates from about 100 companies. "And it's not something that you are going to be able to buy down the road."
Giboney, 35, keeps his Pixar certificate in a safe place, just like the rest of his collection, because he believes that the documents will get more valuable as computer databases increasingly replace paper records of stock ownership.
He prizes them so much that he asked that his home city not be identified to thwart potential thieves.
Other people, such as San Francisco resident Lily Chang, want a Pixar certificate for emotional reasons.
She bought five Pixar shares shortly after the Jan. 24 announcement of the Disney sale just so she could get a stock certificate, which she tucked into an old college textbook to get the wrinkles out.
"I feel like a dork because it feels a bit obsessive," said Chang, 36, who once dreamed of working for Pixar. "I am never going to be selling this on EBay, though. You can't put a price on sentiment."
With the Disney deal looming, many people are buying just a single Pixar share because that's the least expensive way to get certificates before they become defunct.
Pixar's stock price recently has been hovering around $65, but getting a certificate costs an additional $35 to $40 at places such as OneShare.com and Frame-a-Stock Inc., which specialize in the service. Throw in the frame that many people have been buying to memorialize the certificates and the total cost approaches $150.
That hasn't scared off buyers at San Francisco-based OneShare, where orders for Pixar certificates are running 35 times higher than at the same time last year.
"It's been like Christmas all over again for us," said Byron Beach, OneShare's vice president of marketing.
