A friend of mine told me that microsoft owns controlling stock in Apple.
It this true?
Somehow it doesn't surprise me.
It this true?
Somehow it doesn't surprise me.
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Does Microsoft own Apple?
- Thread starter doctor pangloss
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It is actually fairly good strategy for Microsoft to own Apple. If Apple starts gaining marketshare, it is not all bad news.
What do you mean quackattack? Could Apple benefit from being owned by Microsoft when they're doing well?
powermac666 said:
:::slaps head:::
Yeah, thanks. That makes sense. It's really way too early in the morning at the moment.
11:55AM...
NO...doctor pangloss said:
If they owned controlling stock in Apple, they would instantly lose any federal or state anti-trust lawsuit filed anywhere in the US and/or the world.
Enough stock to obtain a seat on the board (probably around 5%) would likely also trigger severe anti-trust violations.
For MS it would be a very very bad thing, since they couldn't fight the claims that they are a OS monopoly very well, at that point it would be better if they buy Cuba and moved both companies down there where the political climate would be a little more liberal to that sort of idea.
Microsoft has already been determined to be an illegal monopoly. It is currently settling a withering array of third-party lawsuits based on that ruling. Microsoft's owning of Apple would not affect that situation one way or the other. But, to the point of Microsoft's or anyone else's purchasing of Apple, it hasn't happened and it ain't gonna happen. Apple is not for sale. People who spout such notions have no clue about Apple's ownership.Sun Baked said:NO...
If they owned controlling stock in Apple, they would instantly lose any federal or state anti-trust lawsuit filed anywhere in the US and/or the world.
Enough stock to obtain a seat on the board (probably around 5%) would likely also trigger severe anti-trust violations.
For MS it would be a very very bad thing, since they couldn't fight the claims that they are a OS monopoly very well, at that point it would be better if they buy Cuba and moved both companies down there where the political climate would be a little more liberal to that sort of idea.
I really do not see it an monopoly( in my eyes the law may say different) people have other choice just many do not know about it cuz they never look around.MisterMe said:
I LOVE THAT GAME!
The PC apologists on the board would probably like to point out that you misspelled "pwn" in the titledoctor pangloss said:
.(I'm certainly not one of them!)
Glad you figured it outmad jew said::::slaps head:::
Yeah, thanks. That makes sense. It's really way too early in the morning at the moment.
11:55AM...
. Thanks to powermac for clarifing my post.I agree with you guys that MS owning Apple is is unappealing thought. MS is in so much anti-trust trouble that owning Apple is really just a drop in the bucket.
Although if MS were to gain a significant portion of the power at Apple I'm sure we would hear plenty about it. Also I'm sure our computers would grow less and less appealing
They were trying to get MS broken up for some of their practices, but owning Apple would immediately trigger the anti-trust remedies that people are "trying" to trigger right now (without much luck) to break MS up into smaller parts.zap2 said:
We always see anti-trust working when companies are required to see off assets, business, etc. during mergers.
Usually a yes or no on regulatory approval for the merger, or they make you bring the merged company into compliance through sell offs.
This Macrumors post says that MS still owns its shares in Apple.
That post quoted an article written in Feb 2005
That post quoted an article written in Feb 2005
That deal must be invalidated by now - they stopped producing IE for Mac well over a year ago... maybe even two by now...
Maybe I'm in a conspiracy-theory kind of mood, but as someone said - it would make sense for Microsoft if they did own Apple...
What if they do and noone knows it?! Imagine if all the computer companies in the world were actually the same one... Apple's just there for strange alternative people who like to break the mould... but in the end all the money goes straight back to.... CompuHyperGlobalMegaNet....
Maybe I'm in a conspiracy-theory kind of mood, but as someone said - it would make sense for Microsoft if they did own Apple...
What if they do and noone knows it?! Imagine if all the computer companies in the world were actually the same one... Apple's just there for strange alternative people who like to break the mould... but in the end all the money goes straight back to.... CompuHyperGlobalMegaNet....
You should credit Brent Schendler of Fortune magazine, not the Macrumors repost. However, it is an opinion piece in a popular magazine, not a peer-reviewed history monograph. The Wikipedia page linked above is substantially more accurate. Wikipedia is correct that Microsoft sold its Apple stock. Schendler is probably correct that Microsoft's stake in Apple is now worth more than $1 billion. He just omitted the fact that Microsoft doesn't own it any more.mac-er said:
That's a dangerous claim in these wiki times. There's a big arguement against Wikipedia (in particular) as to whether or not it can actually be used as a viable reference source. It's frowned upon by libraries everywhere, and many colleges won't accept Wiki articles as source material. They claim there really is no "official" fact-checking which can make it equally susceptable to accuracy or the product of collective ignorance. Saying that it's more accurate than Fortune is a bold claim. (Just thought I'd point that out)MisterMe said:
Personally, I love Wikipedia. It is a much larger knowledge base than even the largest Encyclopedia. Wikipedia has over 500,000 articles in English (1.5 million in total) far more than the 2005 Encyclopedia-Brittainica which claims only 65,000 articles. I very frequently trust the accuracy of their articles. And to those who think about defacing Wikipedia, "an obscenity randomly inserted on Wikipedia is removed in 1.7 min., on average. Vandals might as well be spray-painting walls with disappearing ink."
My source material for this post was gleaned from the June 6, 2005 issue of TIME magazine, an article entitled "It's a Wiki, Wiki World"
Look everyone, at the time it made perfect sense for MS to "invest" in Apple. They were still in the midst of Apple suing them over the similarities of the OS. Fortunately for MS, Apple was going thru some tough times. Therefore a deal was struck. MS said to Apple, you drop/settle this lawsuit and we will provide you with some capital to continue your operations. MS did this knowing full well that they in fact need to have Apple in the market. If not they, IMO, would almost certainly face some sort of break up similar to AT&T.
The fact that MS may or may not still own shares of Apple means nothing. A controlling interest would require 51% of the stock. Thats not the case. The fact that MS no longer develops IE for the Mac also has no bearing.
The fact that MS' s investment of 150M is now worth over 1B is simply a testament to the growth and strength that Apple currently is enjoying.
The fact that MS may or may not still own shares of Apple means nothing. A controlling interest would require 51% of the stock. Thats not the case. The fact that MS no longer develops IE for the Mac also has no bearing.
The fact that MS' s investment of 150M is now worth over 1B is simply a testament to the growth and strength that Apple currently is enjoying.
Apple lost the look and feel suit against Microsoft long before this suit. The suit that resulted in the $150 million stock purchase had to do with QuickTime. Apple had caught Microsoft dead to rights. It is my understanding that Steve Jobs offered Microsoft a deal in which they would do business rather than fight. FWIW, people who can't do math have grossly overblown the financial importance Microsoft's stock purchase. At the time, Apple had $4 billion in cash. The M$ money was a drop in the bucket.mojohanna said:
eXan said:Lol if it was true, Apple would no longer be real 'Apple'
I'm glad its not true
Funny to hear Billy Boy telling Stevo what to do:
B.G.: "Stevie, let some of those viruses in, they do magig for us"
S.J.: "Yes sir"