Shares of Television Set Maker Loewe Jump as Apple Acquisition Rumors Resurface

[MacRumors]

Reuters reports that shares of German television set maker Loewe jumped 43% today as rumors of a possible acquisition by Apple resurfaced. A trader was quoted as saying that Apple is looking to bid 4 euros per share for Loewe, but a company spokesman claimed that Loewe was not aware of any such offer.

Rumors of an Apple acquisition of Loewe first emerged in May of last year, dying when Loewe said there was "absolutely nothing to it". It is not known what has led to the renewed speculation today.

While Loewe's luxury TV designs are very much in line with what might be expected from the long-anticipated Apple television set, given that design is one of Apple's core strengths it is not immediately clear what unique contributions Loewe might bring to the table. The German manufacturer is 28% owned by Sharp, 13% by the company's management, 11% by storage company Lacie, and the rest freely traded.

As of the time of writing, Loewe shares were up 33% to 3.63 euros ($4.89), valuing the company at 53 million euros.

Article Link: Shares of Television Set Maker Loewe Jump as Apple Acquisition Rumors Resurface

[Hakone]

Now that'll look great in my family room. Apple or not. Although cleaning might be a pain.

[CptnJustc]

Originally Posted by Hakone

Now that'll look great in my family room. Apple or not.

I like the rest of the setup, but... that double chin on the TV....

[charlieegan3]

Originally Posted by CptnJustc

I like the rest of the setup, but... that double chin on the TV....

Yeah that does look a little funny doesn't it.

I think they'll go for equal bezel or an iMac like look personally.

[Sky Blue]

They should buy Home Depot instead.

[bjsterilite]

Originally Posted by Sky Blue

They should buy Home Depot instead.

I only got it after I thought about it for a few seconds

[Terry W]

Maybe Apple is just buying Sharp's share to help them raise cash, and as a new owner collaborating with Loewe's design team and/or getting access to design concepts/patents.

[Acerone]

Isn't Loewe very high end?

[kryca]

Originally Posted by Acerone

Isn't Loewe very high end?

yes and no. It has a modular design, so you can upgrade as new technologies become available. It also comes with a design that some people consider "high end". (I prefer the extremely zen-buddhistic Bravia design.) Apart from that, it can be seen as an overpriced Sharp TV.
Menu navigation is also nothing revolutionary and more or less the same pain as with most brands.

[Krazy Bill]

At the end of the day.. it's still just a TV folks.

[ChrisTX]

Originally Posted by Acerone

Isn't Loewe very high end?

Kind of like Apple? I'd love to see Apple deny that an Apple TV set is in the works after an acquisition such as this.

[lilo777]

Originally Posted by Acerone

Isn't Loewe very high end?

It is not. Samsung is high end. Loewe is just pretentious. Those interested in the quality of Loewe TV sets can check this forum thread from our Australian friends who can buy both Loewe and Samsung.

Here are some quotes:

"I've formed the impression that Loewe have lost the plot. Their sets are adequate at best and cost way too much for the feature set they offer."

"If I have the sort of money for a Leowe TV I would go for a Samsung 60 or 64 E8000 plasma or Panasonic ST50 60"

"Don't buy the Loewe..."

"After owning loewe once I'd never buy another, picture was good while it worked though"

"I believe the assembly line is German, but that's about it. All the components are sourced elsewhere, i.e. Korea/China."

[MacDownunder]

Originally Posted by lilo777

It is not. Samsung is high end. Loewe is just pretentious. Those interested in the quality of Loewe TV sets can check this forum thread from our Australian friends who can buy both Loewe and Samsung.

Here are some quotes:

"I've formed the impression that Loewe have lost the plot. Their sets are adequate at best and cost way too much for the feature set they offer."

"If I have the sort of money for a Leowe TV I would go for a Samsung 60 or 64 E8000 plasma or Panasonic ST50 60"

"Don't buy the Loewe..."

"After owning loewe once I'd never buy another, picture was good while it worked though"

"I believe the assembly line is German, but that's about it. All the components are sourced elsewhere, i.e. Korea/China."

As a previous owner of Loewe and living in Aus, I can vouch for their beautiful picture, but people like the crazy over saturated stuff that most of the Koreans produce - it's brighter so must be better right? I hate the look of many of the Samsung TVs picture. And mine was reliable as well as better value than what widescreen stuff was available when I bought it.

Do I have a Loewe now? - no manly due to the crazy expensive prices of large panels here in Aus. I have a Sony Bravia HX series which is nice, efficient and didn't smash my budget. The stores pushing Samsung all wanted me to buy their flagship product with hand gesturing, skype camera etc which was not only significantly dearer than what we went for but also, in my opinion, produced a lesser picture than the Sony once you played proper HD and not animation where the over blown colours do look great.

But that's just my opinion and I'm sure many disagree and enjoy their choices as well

[Risco]

Originally Posted by Acerone

Isn't Loewe very high end?

So are Apple

[saturn88]

Originally Posted by Acerone

Isn't Loewe very high end?

not as high end, as Bang and Olufsen

[caligomez]

Help me understand.. Why would they buy this company? if:

1) Apple has (arguably) the world's best technology design team in house

2) All the technological expertise and R&D to create the appropriate display to fit their product needs (does Loewe have some sort of coveted patent that they want?)

3) They will probably manufacture their TV set in China, taking full advantage of their incredibly efficient supply chain, and wouldn't necessarily need Loewes for that.

Why do they need this company?

[slrandall]

Originally Posted by caligomez

Help me understand.. Why would they buy this company? if:

1) Apple has (arguably) the world's best technology design team in house

2) All the technological expertise and R&D to create the appropriate display to fit their product needs (does Loewe have some sort of coveted patent that they want?)

3) They will probably manufacture their TV set in China, taking full advantage of their incredibly efficient supply chain, and wouldn't necessarily need Loewes for that.

Why do they need this company?

Patents, maybe?

[krravi]

Originally Posted by slrandall

Patents, maybe?

Patent on what? The panels are from Sharp.

[AndiS.]

Originally Posted by caligomez

Help me understand.. Why would they buy this company? if:

1) Apple has (arguably) the world's best technology design team in house

2) All the technological expertise and R&D to create the appropriate display to fit their product needs (does Loewe have some sort of coveted patent that they want?)

3) They will probably manufacture their TV set in China, taking full advantage of their incredibly efficient supply chain, and wouldn't necessarily need Loewes for that.

Why do they need this company?

Loewe have exorbitant product quality, I don't know how they do it exactly, but the picture quality is insane. As are the prices, which in this case I assume, are not only paid for the name.

[kryca]

Originally Posted by AndiS.

Loewe have exorbitant product quality, I don't know how they do it exactly, but the picture quality is insane. As are the prices, which in this case I assume, are not only paid for the name.

It can be compared to a regular Sharp TV. Because it is a Sharp panel. Plus some software tweaks that may make it look "a tad bit better" but not "insanely" better. Maybe "insanely" in Apple lingo where everything is soooo next century and awesome, but not in the real world.

[hexx]

Originally Posted by AndiS.

Loewe have exorbitant product quality, I don't know how they do it exactly, but the picture quality is insane. As are the prices, which in this case I assume, are not only paid for the name.

Nope, they don't. I used to sell them and they're nothing special except for the price, kind of B&O thing - nothing special but good show-off.

----------

Originally Posted by ManWithAPlan

Right, so an opinion from one person based on experience years ago is not interesting at all. They clearly were not perfect, and they had yield issues, etc. not to mention logistics problems like this with the US market in particular, etc. etc. That's not interesting. What is interesting is that none of that matters - not to a purchase like Apple, who would clean house on all these things - Apple has the best logistics in the world, trust me. They will take the best aspects of Loewe, kick the bad aspects to the curb, and re-tool to meet THEIR design goals, not some legacy person at Loewe's design goals, that's the point. Clearly you have not been around business if you think that problems from 7 years ago actually mean anything today for an acquirer the size of Apple, or for their plans to conquer this new market.

i'm another one, we were authorised distributor of Loewe. It's the same crap like B&O (also used to sell their products) - a lipstick on a pig

[RedCroissant]

Originally Posted by caligomez

Help me understand.. Why would they buy this company? if:

1) Apple has (arguably) the world's best technology design team in house

2) All the technological expertise and R&D to create the appropriate display to fit their product needs (does Loewe have some sort of coveted patent that they want?)

3) They will probably manufacture their TV set in China, taking full advantage of their incredibly efficient supply chain, and wouldn't necessarily need Loewes for that.

Why do they need this company?

If this is even happening at all I think the most likely thing is that Apple would partner with Loewe to make an Apple-branded version of current designs that would be sold in the U.S. and other countries where Loewe doesn't have market presence.

Loewe did have to restructure their business plan at the end of last year due to a marked decrease in sales and overall market share in Europe. Because of this(according to the website), they've made deals with electrical companies and are looking to expand to Russia and India. They will also be laying off +/- 190 people and might end up licensing their technology and designs to other companies.

So, this might be an opportunity to license out TV design and other patents to Apple(along with other companies) to gain a worldwide TV/entertainment presence with the help of one of the best-known companies worldwide.

So I think that the real question is, is it more likely that Loewe needs Apple and Apple is finding a way to decrease its costs to manufacture and design something that is already very well designed?

[hugodrax]

Originally Posted by caligomez

Help me understand.. Why would they buy this company? if:

1) Apple has (arguably) the world's best technology design team in house

2) All the technological expertise and R&D to create the appropriate display to fit their product needs (does Loewe have some sort of coveted patent that they want?)

3) They will probably manufacture their TV set in China, taking full advantage of their incredibly efficient supply chain, and wouldn't necessarily need Loewes for that.

Why do they need this company?

Because Hedge funds are unhappy that apple is not blowing its cash on the balance sheet. So maybe Apple will make them happy by overpaying for acquisitions that end up providing poor returns on equity like all the other tech giants.

[nep61]

I'm in the market for a LARGE Flat screen TV... I Hope I can wait long enought to see Apple release something soon.... This is exciting to say the least.

[carlgo]

Are these tvs currently made in Germany? A German-made TV would set Apple apart.

As for style, the new sets we see are about as good as can be, all screen, hardly a frame and so very thin (Apple will make them the thinnest of course...). A new 55" is no bigger in total than my older 42" which has a chin and a big frame.

Despite the dramatic photo, the Loewe is not better looking than other new TVs and is it better in terms of performance? I have seen them in high-end stereo stores, big bucks but what are the extra benefits?

I still think Apple has to bring more to the table than Apps...it needs the best screen and that means some new technology. Otherwise, why would people buy them over other brands?