A Wired magazine opinion piece by Contributing Editor Josh McHugh says that Disney or Sony should buy Apple. Of course, rumors of this nature pop up every few months, but McHugh feels rumor should become reality.
Why? Because although “every few years, Apple Computer consistently comes out of the blue with products that alter the trajectory of the technology business and leave observers rubbing their eyes in amazement,” the company “clutches a meager 3 percent of the computer market.”
“The company does the inspired work of figuring out new ways to entice people to buy its machines, only to have other vendors crank out inelegant imitations for the masses,” McHugh writes. “It seems unfair, both to Apple and to the hordes saddled with second-rate gear.”
So he feels an “ambitious company with deep pockets and distribution muscle” should buy Apple “and hold it aloft as the trophy it really is.” McHugh said such moves worked in recent years when BMW bought Mini and when Warner Music bought Sub Pop, McHugh notes.
He thinks Disney’s a good fit since its CEO, Michael Eisner, is used to dealing with tough customers such as Apple CEO Steve Jobs. Then there’s Sony.
“A deal with the Disney of consumer electronics would give Apple access to a distribution network that Jobs and Apple fanatics can only dream about,” McHugh writes. “World domination, or at least a shot at double-digit market share, would be within reach. Sony would gain an edge on its margin-scraping competitors, the fruits of Apple’s creative hothouse, and a devoted customer base in influential sectors like publishing and advertising. Not to mention that a deal with Apple could provide leverage against Microsoft’s unrelenting attempts to make Sony one more manufacturing lackey.”
Of course, as McHugh notes, the tricky part would be convincing Jobs to sell Apple.
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