Apple on prowl for takeovers

Its $257B in cash puts even Disney in play as combo

SAN FRANCISCO — As Apple’s stash of cash grows, so does the possibility that the world’s most valuable company will use some of the money for a huge acquisition that would expand its empire beyond iPhones and other gadgets.

The company currently holds more than a quartertrillion dollars it could use to go shopping. So far, the guessing game has primarily focused on possible targets such as Netflix and Tesla Motors. Either deal could make sense, given Apple’s interest in providing a TV service to consumers and its more recent work on selfdriving cars .

But in recent months the takeover talk has swirled around whether Apple might do something even more dramatic by making a bid for Walt Disney Co.

The mouse and the Apple

Valley and Hollywood, this could be it,” RBC Capital Markets analyst Amit Daryanani wrote in a recent research report assessing the logic of an Apple-Disney combination.

Apple doesn’t discuss specific companies that it might buy, but it’s exploring far and wide, according to Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri. “We are looking at every size of acquisition, so we will see how it goes going forward,” Maestri told The Associated Press in a Tuesday interview.

Disney hasn’t given any inclination that it’s looking for a buyer, but publicly held companies are required to consider all takeover offers. Buying Disney would be expensive. Daryanani estimates that Apple would have to pay $157 per share, or about $250 billion.

Treasure chest