Baseless Rumour, Hope not true

[bigoldkid]

Hello all,
I was just trying to get a review on Sony's newist blu ray dvd player. Among updates on Electronics, they have industry news. Heres is what they had that I hope is not true, and apple just sticks to its own. It is a rather short article, but here it is anyway. It is all so from Reuters.

Helping to spark the speculation was a Saturday report in Barron’s that said cash-rich Apple could be contemplating a big acquisition and noted speculation about Adobe, Sony and Disney as potential targets. Sony spokeswoman Sue Tanaka said: “We cannot comment on rumors or speculation.” Sony shares closed up 0.7 percent at 2,742 yen after climbing as high as 2,804 yen. Trading volume was 17.61 million shares, the highest since July 30, the day after the company surprised the market with a quarterly profit and raised its full-year profit outlook.

[JPL]

Steve Jobs is already Disney's Largest Stockholder and on the Board so I wouldn't be surprised.

[bigoldkid]

That was the most stupid thing Disney did to agree to that deal with Jobs. I hope Disney and the other stock holders won't make another mistake by accepting anything from Apple. If Apple would completely take over, I can see Walt's dream not being kept alive. Is there a correct address or email to write to Disney about this??

[Daisy'sMom]

Hope it isn't true. We will not be getting Aps anymore if that's the case. Apple is just wrong!!!

[bigoldkid]

That was the most stupid thing Disney did to agree to that deal with Jobs. I hope Disney and the other stock holders won't make another mistake by accepting anything from Apple. If Apple would completely take over, I can see Walt's dream not being kept alive. Is there a correct address or email to write to Disney about this??

Or any emails for Bob Iger

[potzie]

How would Apple purchasing Disney be such a bad thing? They are innovative and set a very high standard for their products.

From what I have read it doesn't seem like it would be a good fit but they have a boatload of cash that as a shareholder I would like to either be paid it as a dividend or put to a good use.

[GrumpyFan]

Amateur Arm chair analysis of this rumor: I can't see Apple buying Disney, it just doesn't make sense, and wouldn't really seem to hold any real intrinsic value for them that they don't already have a big interest in and ability to capitalize on already. I mean, what possible does Disney possess that would benefit Apple? Unless they want greater access to their movie library. As for Sony, I can't see much there either, except maybe for their media, including music and movies, which Apple could then have greater control of for licensing and distribution purposes. As for Adobe, I can't see anything at all there that would be of significant benefit to Apple.

That's just my 2 cents. In truth, I know nothing, I'm an amateur investor who's only had a moderate level of success in my own investments.

[Ian]

Don't really get the hostility towards Jobs and/or Apple. They're a company that believes in upholding the highest standards. You may not like their product and that's fine, but I'll take their dedication to being the best over Bob Iger's Disney any day of the week.

The only thing Disney cares about these days is making the biggest buck possible. I mean, in case you haven't noticed "Walt's dream" has been dead for about 30 years now.

[potzie]

Don't really get the hostility towards Jobs and/or Apple. They're a company that believes in upholding the highest standards. You may not like their product and that's fine, but I'll take their dedication to being the best over Bob Iger's Disney any day of the week.

The only thing Disney cares about these days is making the biggest buck possible. I mean, in case you haven't noticed "Walt's dream" has been dead for about 30 years now.

[Brer Robert]

Don't really get the hostility towards Jobs and/or Apple. They're a company that believes in upholding the highest standards. You may not like their product and that's fine, but I'll take their dedication to being the best over Bob Iger's Disney any day of the week.

The only thing Disney cares about these days is making the biggest buck possible. I mean, in case you haven't noticed "Walt's dream" has been dead for about 30 years now.

I remember Eisner's Disney being a little bit worse, but yeah, I don't think it ever really mattered. The REAL Disney magic died when Walt himself died...

[Tekneek]

Put me down as another person that doesn't understand any anti-Jobs sentiment. The man works hard to deliver quality goods with a design worthy of pieces of modern art. You aren't just buying a black box computer, or black box monitor, or black box mp3 player, from those guys. They are selling you an entire package. That is something to aspire to, not disdain.

Frankly, I have been disappointed to not feel a sense of his involvement in Disney up to this point (of course, the Pixar people are his people, so he is having an impact by proxy that way). Disney should be begging for some Apple insight into the future-oriented lands (Tomorrowland/Discoveryland and certainly Future World), as they seem to have lost the plot themselves.

I cannot see Apple buying Disney. They have their hands full with their regular business. I would like to see them more involved in places like Innoventions. They could really spruce that place up with some wonderful interactive areas with just their current technology (wouldn't even need to invent anything new to instantly improve that place!).

[Mogie]

If Apple buys Disney all the colors of the parks will be changed to white and silver. Mickey Ears logos will be replaced by White Apple logos.

Everyone will have to show proof of purchase of an IPod/IPad/Macbook to gain access to the parks.

None of the rides will work properly and Steve Jobs will put the blame on us saying, "The people aren't riding the rides correctly."

[Scar]

I was thinking there is no way Apple could afford to buy Disney. I mean, it's not everyday a company in the DJIA gets bought by one that isn't (unless the government is buying it .) But I looked at the balance sheets. In '07 Disney was worth $30B and Apple was $15B. Now Disney is $37 B and Apple is $45B. Wow, that's some growth.

[Dznygrl79]

I don't see this as a bad thing at all, Jobs is an idealist and while yes his ideas with Apple are not neccessarily in line with Disney I don't think he would change that much. In fact I imagine he would do more to furthur things in the movie arena and retail than the parks. Also in this economy he has gone to great lengths to drive up Apple profits, Disney maybe able to use those ideas. Looking at the other companies mentioned I am also leaning toward Sony for the aquisition so they could start getting in on the 3d technology end of things. I just don't get the people who hate the man because they don't like a product.

[Gator]

Steve Jobs running it would be better than Bill Gates running it - and I'm a PC guy.

[LandFan]

steve jobs running it would be better than bill gates running it - and i'm a pc guy.

:d

[potzie]

I'm not at all sure where you got your numbers from but Apple's market cap today is $289 Billion and they have $55 Billion in cash or cash equivalents. Disney's market cap today is $70 Billion in total. Even with a buyer's premium to get shareholder approval you might pay $90 Billion at most for Disney. I still don't see it happening or why it would make sense for Apple to do it, but they certainly could afford to.

I was thinking there is no way Apple could afford to buy Disney. I mean, it's not everyday a company in the DJIA gets bought by one that isn't (unless the government is buying it .) But I looked at the balance sheets. In '07 Disney was worth $30B and Apple was $15B. Now Disney is $37 B and Apple is $45B. Wow, that's some growth.

[Scar]

Well, I know nothing about the stock market or acquisitions, nor do I know what market cap is, but I do know something about financial statements. The info I got was from Forbes and Marketwatch. Those numbers are the total equity (assets less liabilities,) which, for my money, is what a company is worth (of course there are other things like goodwill.)

And if you read my post again, I said "was thinking" as in past tense.

[potzie]

Market Cap is Market Capitalization. It is the number of shares a company has outstanding multiplied by the current price of the stock. A company's share price is not based on current net worth, it is based on a number of factors including the expected future earnings of the company. If Apple wanted to buy all the stock in Disney they would need to pay the current share price of the company plus a premium to entice the current shareholders to sell. That is why I suggested that at a current Market Cap of $70 Billion it would likely take closer to $90 Billion to make the deal happen.