A great opportunity to go short on Sony. Apple wont buy them - Apple buy small companies that make successful products, which Sony has not for quite some time.
The VAIO Z series is a great product. Maybe not a successful one, but it's a nice machine. Faster and lighter than a MBA.
They also make nice iPod competitors.
Of course, there's no reason why Apple would buy such a huge company. They prefer to buy small tech companies that they can absorb without losing their design and management DNA. Not big competitors. Not $33 billion companies with 163,000 employees.
While I also don't think Apple will buy Sony, they kinda are in the same place Apple was in the 90's pre-jobs. They have a strong brand but make a TON of mediocre products. Jobs coming in and axing everything non-essential to a small "only the best" product line up could really turn the company around. I wouldn't write them off just because of their current lineup.
You're arguing that Jobs could fix Sony, which is probably true.
But there are many companies which could be fixed by a CEO such as Jobs. What brick would Sony bring to Apple's offer that makes sense to buy rather than make?
* brand recognition? Sony's isn't too bad, but it's leagues away from Apple's.
* a bunch of Wintel PC with nice-looking casings? Come on!
* a bunch of almost adequate MP3 players? LOL.
* rights on their music and movies portfolio? This sounds much better, but I doubt they would buy the whole Sony-the-consumer-appliances-maker to get Sony-the-music-major.
I fail to see what would make Sony valuable specifically to Apple.
Though some of Apple's acquisitions fit that description (Nothing Real and eMagic -- though it seems like they managed to kill off Nothing Real, which is sad), they've also bought a few companies that didn't have any products at all, like Raycer Graphics and... I can't think of the name of that PPC design firm they bought. They had products that sounded promising, but didn't exist yet... same with Raycer.
Sony seems to be doing OK with the PS3 and their A/V equipment sells pretty well too. They also developed the Blu-Ray format; possibly they get licensing fees for that?
They also make nice iPod competitors.
Of course, there's no reason why Apple would buy such a huge company. They prefer to buy small tech companies that they can absorb without losing their design and management DNA. Not big competitors. Not $33 billion companies with 163,000 employees.