Apple keeps close tabs on the tense situation at Time Warner, where the company's leaders, shareholders and activist investors don't see eye to eye anymore.
As a lot of investors agree that the shares of Time Warner are undervalued, opinions from the circle of investors converge on one thing: a buyout or spinoff would serve their interests better.
A report from the New York Post underlines that Apple is looking intently in Time Warner's direction. The American multinational media corporation is taking a lot of heat from its investors who are urging the management to consider selling the company, and Apple is ready to step up with an offer.
It is easy to see why the Cupertino-based company would want to seal the deal with Time Warner. Tim Cook's company aims to have its own digital streaming service delivered alongside the Apple TV, but so far efforts have been discouraging.
Apple's plans of offering a "skinny bundle" or about 25 channels for an affordable price failed to materialize last year.
The significant content that Time Warner holds in its portfolio includes immense successes such as "Game of Thrones," not to mention established names such as CNN. Perhaps more significantly, Time Warner already has ties with the channels that Apple wants to add to its library, so Apple can offer a complete TV platform.
As the New York Post reports, Eddy Cue, who handles the content deals at Apple, has been closely observing the goings-on at Time Warner. Cue may already be poised to offer Time Warner a deal that is hard to refuse, should the opportunity present itself.
An existing business connection already exists between Time Warner and Apple. Time Warner-owned HBO signed a partnership with Apple earlier last year.
It should be noted that Time Warner is an exception in the park of listed companies, as it has a non-tiered share structure. This means that buyouts are fairly easy to accomplish because the managerial decision can be bypassed.
The iPhone manufacturer is not the only tech name eyeing the company run by Jeffrey Bewkes. AT&T, which owns DirecTV, is also waiting to pounce on a deal. Fox is a potential suitor as well, and more will likely surface should a buyout indeed be on the table.
