Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) still hasn’t confirmed that it bought Beats Electronics for $3.2 billion, although rumors insist that the deal is done or close to done. But if the deal is true, then what does it mean for Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:SIRI)? One Seeking Alpha contributor notes that investors appear to have become more interested in Sirius and Pandora Media Inc (NYSE:P) because of the alleged Beats acquisition.
Who might buy Sirius XM?
If Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) really does buy Beats, then it would be the company’s biggest acquisition in history. So far Apple has only been making small acquisitions of no more than $1 billion. However, the acquisition has made investors more constructive on music streaming companies, especially since $3.2 billion would represent a 60% premium for Beats Electronics, according to the $2 billion valuation assigned by Forbes.
So which companies might be interested in buying Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:SIRI)? Wunderlich Securities analyst Matthew Harrington believes it’s very possible that another company could snap up Sirius XM, as the shift has been toward full ecosystem companies instead of standalone streaming music providers. As a result, it’s possible Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) or Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) might go after Pandora Media Inc (NYSE:P).
Buying Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:SIRI), however, depends on how much of a premium Liberty Media Corp (NASDAQ:LMCA) (NASDAQ:LMCB) would want, as it holds a major stake in the company. The Seeking Alpha contributor suggests a 30% premium, which would push Sirius stock back up to its 52-week high.
Apple might just be crazy
Since investors became more optimistic about streaming music providers because of the rumor about Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Beats, it’s likely shares of Pandora Media Inc (NYSE:P) and Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:SIRI) will be hit hard if the rumor turns out not to be true. Nonetheless, the fact that Apple’s acquisition of Beats seems so unlikely—and just flat out crazy—has sparked a hilarious spoof video.
The video was posted on Funny or Die, and it has Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) frittering away its $150 billion in cash on nonsense purchases. One says that after acquiring Beats, Apple still has $147 billion in cash yet. So the next acquisition? Of course it’s Kohler toilets for $13 billion. And why? Who cares? Apple still has $134 billion left.
Another woman says in the video that she found a nice sweater at Fred Siegel, so Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is buying it. And then there’s a common about Tim Cook meeting with some woman named Karen late at night at a Denny’s. The video suggests Apple could even buy Amazon.com through Amazon.com, the website. And then what about Totino’s Pizza Rolls? They could be called iPizzaRolls.
