Image courtesy of Nick Bilton/ New York Times
Apple Inc. (AAPL) is soon to be the most valuable company in America. Oh yeah, and they have about $51 billion in cash sitting on their balance sheets. That's a super fat chump of change. So it begs the question...Will Jobs and Co abandon their time worn strategy of organic growth in the name of acquisitions? $51 billion can buy you a whole lotta stuff. But, what makes the most strategic sense for the Kings of Cupertino? In today's NY Times Dealbook section there is an excellent article on just that topic. I have some ideas of my own....
What can $51 billion buy?
Here's some ideas:
Warren Buffett: $47 Billion
Facebook: $35 Billion.
Sirius/XM: $5.3 Billion
NY Yankees: $1.6 Billion
Boston Red Sox: $860 Million
RIMM (Blackberry): $25 Billion
Electronic Arts: $5.1 Billion
Netflix: $7.1 Billion
Playboy: $175 Million
Yahoo: $21.7 Billion
Empire State Building: $1.5 Billion
Personally, I'd buy the Yankees and Playboy and the Empire State Building and turn it into my own private residence (Haha) but I digress. However, for strategic business reasons there is simply no better buy for Apple than Facebook. With it's 500 million membership base and superhuman growth rates Facebook is in the unique position as both a powerhouse tech company and one that is (depending on one's own feelings on the matter) "affordable" for Apple. There are, of course, natural synergies between the two. Both companies are lifestyle brands with high customer satisfaction and hip factor. Up till now, Zuckerberg has been reluctant to sell his baby. But perhaps Steve Job's fabled reality distortion field and a $ 40 billion dollar check might change his mind.
Well I hate Facebook
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