Apple spent 2 billion? on what?
Overheard a rumor regarding Apple investing 2 billion of it's cash into something. I haven't heard about a stock buy back but i was wondering what kind of manufacturing infrastructure would warrant such an expense.
Any future hardware theories on this? Or maybe they bought out Quark/Adobe?
Anyone hearing this rumor anywhere else?
MSKR <img src="graemlins/bugeye.gif" border="0" alt="[Skeptical]" />
Any future hardware theories on this? Or maybe they bought out Quark/Adobe?
Anyone hearing this rumor anywhere else?
MSKR <img src="graemlins/bugeye.gif" border="0" alt="[Skeptical]" />
Comments
Adobe (no way - MarketCap alone is over $4B)
Quark (not a public company but I doubt it)
Dave
[ 08-01-2002: Message edited by: DaveGee ]</p>
<strong>Any future hardware theories on this? Or maybe they bought out Quark/Adobe?
Anyone hearing this rumor anywhere else?
MSKR <img src="graemlins/bugeye.gif" border="0" alt="[Skeptical]" /> </strong><hr></blockquote>
I doubt that Apple could purchase Adobe or Quark. Adobe has a larger market cap than Apple, though it would secure the creative market for Apple. That might buy them Quark, but based on recent history, rumours, and speculation I would think this might be Apple purchasing some Assets, such as the AltiVec, from Motorolla. The CPU is the major stumbling block that Apple has right now, and if they owned AltiVec ought right, then they could potentially design, or contract the design of chips out to IBM, Motorolla, or possibly even AMD, and not loose the investment in AltiVec that they have made in software optimizing, or credability with thier investers who have optimized thier software for AltiVec.
I suppose that if Apple wants to try a hostile takeover of Palm, that now would be the time to do so.
<strong>Buying adobe and killing all the windows versions of Photoshop, Premiere, After effects, Illustrator and all the other applications would be a true windows killer... <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> </strong><hr></blockquote>
A better strategy for Apple would be to buy Adobe and to cripple the PC versions of the software so that it runs as quickly on a 3GHz P4 as on a 1GHz G4. If the benchmarks don't go your way, then rig them!
Apple gets the rights to buy out Mot's stake in PPC this summer. I'll bet Mot's board looked at their bottom line, looked at $2 billion in cash and said "here! take it! please!"
If Apple was smart, they also scooped up those Mot engineers who were working on the high-end PPC parts as part of the deal.
<strong>Wouldnt it make sense to invest money now, since Apples market cap is about the same as the amont of money Apple got in the bank?? kinda makes Apple a good candidate for hostile buyouts. ( But who would do a multi billion buyout, given current rough economical climate?)</strong><hr></blockquote>
This is probably pretty close to the truth... they may also be of the opinion that the market is due for a recovery. If it starts gaining at 10+% annually again, that'll be a serious source of revenue.
Motorola, not exactly in dire straits but hurting none the less, could be persuaded more easily to divest or at least license some of their key PowerPC technologies.
This is a time when Apple needs to be investing in their future. They are doing this on their software front by buying up all these software companies. Obviously they know that their hardware front is in need of some modernization. They have this cash for a reason.
IBM's new chip factory would be a decent excuse, but $2bln seems abit high for that, consideriing IBM itself only spent $2.5bln on it total. So, if this is true, then perhaps they bought out Motorolo's end of the chip game and decided to either buy Mot's existing facility or build a new one (which would take a few years.).
I really don't believe Apple has spent $2bln, though...
michael
Personally I think Steve just bought a satellite so he can broadcast out some serious RDF!
$2 billion is a stretch. That's have of their cash, I don't think AAPL would do that.
I also went to SCAD as too, only for a couple years, 89-90. Back in the glory days of those Amigas. I'm old now.
<strong>Considering that Steve basically panned PDAs as a dead end on stage at the last MacWorld and embraced the new "smart" cellphones, I think Palm had its chance. In lieu of trying to buy Palm, Apple is now working with Ericsson et al.
Apple gets the rights to buy out Mot's stake in PPC this summer. I'll bet Mot's board looked at their bottom line, looked at $2 billion in cash and said "here! take it! please!"
If Apple was smart, they also scooped up those Mot engineers who were working on the high-end PPC parts as part of the deal.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Well, the whole "PDA's are dead" is an issue that I would like to debate, but not here.
I think that Apple buying Moto's PPC division would be a great thing, but ONLY if they get the engineers. Without the engineers, there is no point to getting the division because these are the guys that you must have in order to produce any future chips. The money is basically buying three things. Rights to PPC instructions, current development work and the engineers.
Of course, I wonder if Moto would let their engineers go away, knowing that Apple was going to probably not design embedded CPU's. Moto really does like the embedded CPU market.
I don't see that being plonked on Altivec. At all. It's not worth it. It's 'just' a SIMD instruction set. Not an all pervasive one at that. Apple just needs a gawd damn better alround CPU. IBM are still developing their PPC which seems to suggest we'll get 'what we want' eventually. Just not for the next few months...
Would it cost Apple 2 billion to convince IBM to do a 'Power 4' variant for them? They already have plans to take the 'Power' series into a more conventional market in some form or another.
Apple buying Moto's design team for the cpu? PPC assets? Motorola are still making PPCs. Just not for the desktop.
Unless Apple were to just buy the 'desktop' division. If there IS one.
I don't see that either. Unless Apple are really convinced they can compete with Intel/AMD... Why not just design cpus and contract them out to IBM?
$2 billion is half what Apple has in the bank.
I think it's wiser to stay there in their ongoing battle with Dell and M$...because...they're going to need to keep it if M$ retaliates to the Switch campaign.
Personally, if Apple are going to splosh $2 billion down...I'd like to see them buy a controlling interest in Adobe...(and pull the PC versions.
I think Apple should keep the money in the bank and keep making incisive and deliberate strategies such as emagic and Shake. No wham bam strategies. They'd be better off using this money for small aquisitions and give the consumer (the 'Switcher'...cause that's where Apple is going to need to get some more of its money from if they want to survive long term...) more and more reasons to go Apple... R and D to keep the OS and their products ahead.
Keep opening the stores. Heck, advertise a little more(!) Make the multimedia market their stronghold and keep rippling out from there as they have been doing.
Just do more of the same. Losing 2 billion on something...yeesh...that kinda makes me feel Apple would become exposed and vulnerable...
I didn't realise Adobe's market capital was 4 billion. Gulp. A Quark buyout? Indesign is currently putting the boot in and Quark look worrying lethargic.
2 billion?
I don't see it.
Lemon Bon Bon <img src="graemlins/hmmm.gif" border="0" alt="[Hmmm]" />
[ 08-01-2002: Message edited by: Lemon Bon Bon ]</p>
<strong>In light of Apple's recent purchasing spree of software companies... it made me start thinking: What's stopping Microsoft from doing the same thing. Maybe even (GASP) on a larger scale? Scary thought!
Personally I think Steve just bought a satellite so he can broadcast out some serious RDF!
Why shouldn't MS buy out companies(obvious issues with the federal government aside)? IBM just bought out PWC. Why not buy companies on the cheap right now? MS can't get away with it as easily because they are watched more closely.
<strong>$2 billion.
I don't see that being plonked on Altivec. At all. It's not worth it. It's 'just' a SIMD instruction set. Not an all pervasive one at that. Apple just needs a gawd damn better alround CPU. IBM are still developing their PPC which seems to suggest we'll get 'what we want' eventually. Just not for the next few months...
Would it cost Apple 2 billion to convince IBM to do a 'Power 4' variant for them? They already have plans to take the 'Power' series into a more conventional market in some form or another.
Apple buying Moto's design team for the cpu? PPC assets? Motorola are still making PPCs. Just not for the desktop.
Unless Apple were to just buy the 'desktop' division. If there IS one.
I don't see that either. Unless Apple are really convinced they can compete with Intel/AMD... Why not just design cpus and contract them out to IBM?
</strong><hr></blockquote>
2 Billion would have almost bought IBM's new fab. No way Apple had to pay IBM that much money to get IBM to make a desktop Power4 variant. It would be in IBM's interest to make a Power4 variant for Apple because IBM could probably also turn around and use the same chip in low end servers. Splitting the R&D costs with Apple and producing more chips would help to lower the cost of such servers, making IBM more competetive. Apple probably would not mind because such IBM machines really aren't in the same market as Apple's offerings (and IBM really sells themselves on their services). In short, I don't think that Apple has to pay IBM very much to get them to work on a PPC chip for Apple.
I still can't see Moto ditching their PPC division because that would mean that they plan on leaving the embedded chip market. I can see Apple paying for a liscense of Altivec, although this should not cost 2 billion.
Designing CPU's is expensive, and Apple would benefit far more from working with IBM, then from using them as a manufacturer. IBM is pretty good at the design and manufacturing of CPU's (Power4 has 170M transistors at 1GHz+). Apple and IBM should work together on any future PPC chip.
[ 08-01-2002: Message edited by: Yevgeny ]</p>
<strong>Any future hardware theories on this? Or maybe they bought out Quark?</strong><hr></blockquote>
Anyone spending any amount of cash to buy Quark is spending the exactly same amount too much for it. Quark has had it's days.
Zach
Lemon Bon Bon rules!!!!!