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Former General Electric CEO Passed on Buying Apple for $2 Billion in 1996

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Apr 12, 2001
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Former chairman and CEO of General Electric Jack Welch had an opportunity to purchase Apple for $2 billion and passed at the chance, according to information shared by Bob Wright in an interview with The New York Post about his book The Wright Stuff: From NBC to Autism Speaks.

Back in 1996, when Apple was struggling ahead of Steve Jobs' return, then CEO Michael Spindler, who took over after John Sculley was ousted, was "practically begging" General Electric to buy Apple.

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"The stock price was $20, and [Spindler] was explaining he couldn't get the company moving fast enough and the analysts were on his case," Wright told The Post in an interview on Tuesday. "He was sweating like mad and everybody said, 'We can't manage technology like that.' We had a chance to buy it for $2 billion."
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A purchase by General Electric would have radically changed the company's history and it's questionable whether Apple would still be around as a brand today had that happened. Later that same year, after GE declined to make the purchase, Apple bought NeXT for $427 million and Steve Jobs returned to lead the company in 1997.

One of Jobs' first major projects was the iPod, which launched in 2001 and set the company on its current path. The iPhone followed in 2007, the iPad came in 2010, and the Apple Watch, Apple's newest product, launched in 2015.

As of today, Apple is worth more than $600 billion, while General Electric is worth less than half of that. In fact, Apple holds more than two thirds of the value of General Electric in cash, with over $215 billion on hand.

Article Link: Former General Electric CEO Passed on Buying Apple for $2 Billion in 1996
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2016/03/31/ge-passed-on-apple-buyout-for-2b/
I have passed on buying things in the past that looking back would have been great today. Had I known back in the late 90's to buy Google, Apple, etc....shesh.
 
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That was a close call!! Apple wouldn't be anything like it is today if they had bought them. Might not even exist. This story sounds familiar though—has this ever been rumored before, or am I thinking of another company?
 
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The flaw in this regret is assuming GE would have taken the purchase and developed a $600 billion business out it.

I am sure Steve Jobs would not have joined GE and therefore iPods and iPhones and the rest of Apple's consumer electronics would never have been developed and all GE would be holding onto is a company that was making computers with a 2% and declining market share.

By the way all Apple fans should get on their knees and thank Microsoft for bailing out the company back then.
 
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ChrisCW11 said:
The flaw in this regret is assuming GE would have taken the purchase and developed a $600 billion business out it.

I am sure Steve Jobs would not have joined GE and therefore iPods and iPhones and the rest of Apple's consumer electronics would never have been developed and all GE would be holding onto is a company that was making computers with a 2% and declining market share.

By the way all Apple fans should get on their knees and thank Microsoft for bailing out the company back then.
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Microsoft did it to avoid becoming a monopoly. Also I agree with the Apple wouldn't have been the same anyway statement.
 
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goobot said:
Microsoft did it to avoid becoming a monopoly. Also I agree with the Apple wouldn't have been the same anyway statement.
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If GE bought Apple, There would be no Apple, GE would have smothered it with muddle management and infighting. It would die like a python smothering its prey.

You would have no OS X, no ipads or iphones. We would still be using antiquated dumb phones and blackberries.

So GE did the right thing, because it would have been blowing 2 billion dollars to waste.
 
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They don't say anything at all about it being a bad decision. Based on how he ran GE and some of his trusted associates, e.g. "Minimum Bob" Nardelli, Apple probably would have lost money for a while and then been ejected for a tenth its value, to die somewhere else
 
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hugodrax said:
If GE bought Apple, There would be no Apple, GE would have smothered it with muddle management and infighting. It would die like a python smothering its prey.

You would have no OS X, no ipads or iphones. We would still be using antiquated dumb phones and blackberries.

So GE did the right thing, because it would have been blowing 2 billion dollars to waste.
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I don't disagree.
 
gsmornot said:
I have passed on buying things in the past that looking back would have been great today. Had I known back in the late 90's to buy Google, Apple, etc....shesh.
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I traded my Compaq shares for Apple in 1999. These were originally DEC Shares. I lost a lot with them but have gained a lot with the Apple ones. sadly I don't hold any Apple stock these days.
 
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