Apple looking to buy Disney?!?!

GrumpyFan

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Don't shoot the messenger, I'm just reporting the news.

According to Business Insider
http://markets.businessinsider.com/...ll-street-malone-2017-3-1001866926-1001866926

Apple's cash pile of more than $200 billion is a favorite topic of investors, bloggers, and traders. It might be the largest cash reserve for any private company in history.
So what is Apple going to do with all that dough?

One theory is that Apple will use its stockpile to buy Disney, according to RBC analyst Steven Cahall:

"Bulls think it portends well for a swan song exit via a sale to a giant like AAPL," Cahall wrote in a note sent out to clients on Friday.

After all, we are living in a world where "content is king." Currently, there is a battle raging among content providers for your eyeballs. Content providers, want you hooked and ready to consume more of your favorite content and all of the other licensed products that go along with it.

When analysts and investors think of content, Disney is the first name that comes to mind.
Disney's "Frozen" is the highest-grossing animated film of all time.

Additionally, five of the 10 highest grossing films of 2016 were Disney movies: "Captain America: Civil War" was the highest grossing film of 2016 with 1.153 billion in revenue, also included were, "Finding Dory", "Zootopia", "The Jungle Book", and "Star Wars: Rogue One."
RBC is not the only one speculating an Apple takeout of Disney is a possibility.

In her fourth-quarter investor letter for 2016, Samantha Greenberg, founder of hedge fund Margate Capital, raised the same possibility, describing the company as a "logical acquisition target" for Apple:

Apple has talked about the benefit Apple sees when it owns exclusive content, and owning Disney would reduce Apple’s exposure to product cycles, expanding AAPL's valuation multiple...It would also be an accretive use of Apple's cash and even more so if Apple's $200Bn of offshore cash can be repatriated favorably.

Additionally, in November 2016, Liberty Media Chairman John Malone predicted that if Disney were to spin-off ESPN, Apple could buy it.

"Fundamentally, Tim Cook is a global player, and fundamentally, ESPN is a domestic service," Malone said, that Apple and Disney would be a better fit without ESPN because then they would both be global players without domestic ESPN holding them back.

This a story that won't be dying down anytime soon.
File this under Wild Rumors/Speculation!
 

GrumpyFan

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Plus, Steve Jobs' ghost said he wants it to happen.

I take those stories with a grain of salt. Most of them are either wishful thinking, idle speculation, or stock manipulation.

Yeah, I'm not sure what advantage they would gain by it, except maybe content/media sharing. Although, seems like as big as Apple already is, they could just form an alliance with Disney to be the exclusive (digital) distributor of their content.
 

LuvtheGoof

Grill Master
Premium Member
First off, most of that 200 billion is off-shore, so they wouldn't be able to use any of that for a purchase of an American company. I think these analysts all need to take a long walk off a short pier, as the majority are just full of it. This ain't ever happening.
 

Ransom

Well-Known Member
Well, that's one bit of speculation, though: Disney would spin off ESPN, then AAPL would buy Disney.
 
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kap91

Well-Known Member
While I see similarities in the companies philosophies and culture this has almost no chance of happening. Apple won't release more than two sizes of a phone because it hates not being focused - then it's going to buy a company as sweeping in scope as Disney?
 

KrazyKat

Well-Known Member
I'm really surprised considering the history that Disney and Apple have together (PIXAR among them) that Apple has yet to sponsor some sort of pavilion somewhere. EPCOT would be a perfect fit with Apple being such a high profile tech company. They are really big on their health apps and should consider sponsoring a pavilion based on health and future advancements being made (bring back Wonders of Life!!!).
 

Oriolesmagic

Well-Known Member
I think this is worth a thread if nothing more than to speculate about whether or not the parks would be in a better or worse off position with Apple at the helm.

Personally, I can't imagine that this would be a positive move for Disney purists like many of us. I love Apple's products but I worry about what new ownership would mean for preserving whatever nostalgia-conjuring attractions remain.
 

alphac2005

Well-Known Member
The 200 billion is very misleading as well. Due to all the complexities of their finances, it's a phantom number and not a disposable number. From some of the business reports that I've read, the real accessible number is between 50 and 80.
 

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