Apple may be cooking up some big deals
Not so long ago, when the US was gearing up for a tax overhaul that would liberate the huge cash reserves the leading technology companies held offshore, it became fashionable to predict what Apple might do with its billions of dollars.
Buying streaming leaders Netflix and Spotify figured high up on most lists, along with Tesla. But Apple didn’t pull the trigger on any big deals: its biggest acquisition last year was the $600m it paid for parts of Dialog Semiconductor, which already supplied power management chips for the iPhone.
Things may be about to change. This week Apple revealed that head of M&A Adrian Perica now reports directly to chief executive Tim Cook, having previously been under chief financial officer Luca Maestri. The change elevated Perica on to the leadership page on Apple’s website and into public attention.
As head of corporate development Perica, who joined Apple in 2009, was already in charge of acquisitions. But the new line to the top sends an obvious signal.
Perica came to Apple from Goldman Sachs. Deals and investments he has been involved in include the acquisition of headphone maker Beats in 2014 (still Apple’s biggest, at $3bn) and a $1bn investment in the Chinese ride-hailing company Didi Chuxing, where he sits on the board.
The intriguing question now is whether Apple’s decision to display the new reporting line for the world to see (some of Cook’s direct reports aren’t on the company’s leadership page) signals an overt intent to get into the acquisitions game.
If so, it may regret not acting earlier. Netflix has doubled in value since the start of last year, to $160bn. But with $245bn in cash and investments on hand, Apple could still do some serious damage. As always, the question remains: is Apple’s need to accelerate its growth in services or find a big new hardware market great enough for it to break with past caution?