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Is Apple Looking to Buy Disney?

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the can't-imagine-why dept.

louismg writes "This week, Barron's is suggesting that with Steve Jobs on board as the number one shareholder of Disney, following Pixar's acquisition, that Disney is ripe for the plucking for an acquisition by Apple. But look at the numbers. Apple has a $60 billion market cap, and Disney's is over $50 billion. Apple's cash on hand is in the $10 billion range. Wouldn't a Disney acquisition eliminate the possibility of working with NBC's shows on iTunes, or working with Viacom/MTV? It would seem the conflicts and competition would outweigh a purchase of Disney - Pixar or not."

4 of 250 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Antitrust by The+Lynxpro · · Score: 2, Informative

    "How is that different from Sony, which produces content and has an online store?"

    Because Apple's online store is successful (in fact, the dominant online music store) and Sony's (Sony Connect) is not... :)

    What everyone also seems to forget - especially with the Sony rootkit debacle - is that Sony's music division is only 50% owned by them. They merged Sony Music with BMG's holdings to create SonyBMG, co-owned by both companies.

    --
    "Right now, somewhere in this world, Scott Baio is plowing a woman he doesn't love," - Peter Griffin, *Family Guy*
  2. No by celerityfm · · Score: 2, Informative

    Wouldn't a Disney acquisition eliminate the possibility of working with NBC's shows on iTunes, or working with Viacom/MTV?

    No, it would not eliminate the possibility at all. The easiest way to explain this is by looking at the wealth of shows that are produced by one conglomerate yet air on other conglomerates (and don't even get me started on syndication). Here is a short list of classics:

    House (NBC-Universal produced but airs on FOX)
    Scrubs (Produced by Disney's studio Touchstone but airs on NBC)
    Buffy/Angel (FOX produced but aired on WB and UPN)
    West Wing (AOL/Time Warner produced but airs on NBC)

    etc.

    The list goes on. The point is that just because content is produced by one conglomerate doesn't mean that the possibility of having another conglomerate distribute that content has been eliminated.

    So regardless of what happens in this case you can expect that the possibility for other congolemerate's and independent's content to appear on iTunes is still very much in play. (Note that NBC was the last network to move into a conglomerate that included production, so they are/were more likely to air content produced by other conglomerates).

    PS

    I hate using the word conglomerate here.. any other suggestions?

    --
    ...unfortunately no one can be told what The Mat^H^H^HGoatse is...they must experience it for themselves...
  3. Re:Antitrust by good+soldier+svejk · · Score: 2, Informative
    The settlement happened on Clinton's watch (the very last months of it).
    By your calendar, the WTC and Pentagon attacks happened on Clinton's watch too. Because they were the month before the DOJ Microsoft settlement.
    --
    It is cowardly, and a betrayal of whatever it means to be a Jew, to act as a white man

    -James Baldwin
  4. Re:Why does Apple keep so much cash on hand by gig · · Score: 2, Informative

    Tech companies keep cash on hand rather than inventory.

    Computers are time-sensitive. You don't make 1000 computers in January and store them until March. Instead you bank the cash in January and make the computers in March after they are already sold. It's all the just-in-time inventory and supply chain stuff taken to a ridiculous degree.

    Then you add the uncertainty and ups and downs of the technology industry and the need to aquire other companies and technologies in order to grow and there are many reasons to have cash on hand.

    Microsoft is the king of this. They have the most cash stored of any company ever in the history of the world.