Ulairi said:
I wasn't agreeing with Warren Buffet. I was trying to make your enterprise value point. I get tired of people saying "Apple should buy X" and looking at market cap. Hostile take overs are extremely difficult and expensive unless you're Mr. Potter.
Well, sure. I agree--market cap is totally reductionist when you're thinking about a takeover. During the actual takeover stage you need to really blow out the balance sheet and look at things, starting with something like an Enterprise Value but probably going further.
It's moot anyway, because beyond whether or not Apple
can buy Sony, why on earth would they want to? Sony is a fat, debt-riddled company with no breakout performer divisions, no interesting intellectual property, no real brand equity, and an enormous headcount. Apple is a lean, cash-rich company that excels at virtually everything it does, owns an enormous amount of intellectual property, has excellent brand equity, and does it with a pretty lean staff. Also they never buy large operations. Despite people telling them to, they stick to modest acquisitions of interesting companies, largely for their expertise or IP, based on ability to integrate those companies into the Apple fold.
People who want Apple to buy Sony are simply projecting their own love or hate for Sony and their own love or hate for Apple, it's not based on any business logic at all