Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) may not be the ‘hottest tech’ company to invest in right now but that doesn’t stop some investors from taking the risk. Alisher Usmanov, Russia’s wealthiest man, recently purchased $100 million in Apple shares.
Usmanov explained his decision to Bloomberg, “When the company lost $100 billion of its market value, it was a good time to buy its shares, as the capitalization should rebound. But for the next three years I believe Apple is a very promising investment, especially given large dividend payments and buybacks. I believe in the future of this company even after Steve Jobs.”
He initially was an investor in metals before moving on the tech companies. Much of his wealth was accrued from Mail.ru group but he also owns 10 percent of Facebook’s shares. Mail.ru also owns 40 percent of Russia’s answer to Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) Vkontakte. Usmanov bought up his Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) shares via Mail.ru group four years ago before his company sold a share for $1.7 billion during the social media giant’s IPO last year and pocketed $1.4 billion for the deal.
Last September, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s stock was almost 40 percent off it’s peak which was caused in part by investors’ concerns over whether the Cupertino-based company could continue competing against Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930).
The fact that Usmanov believes in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) speaks volumes. The fact that he spent $100 million investing in company stock means that he thinks the company will have a significant turnaround. He’s likely right as 2013 could prove to be a big year for Apple. It’s speculated that Apple may release two smartphones this year including the iPhone 5S and iPhone Mini. The latter is expected to be a budget-friendly alternative to the popular phone and would hopefully help boost Apple’s profits. It’s also predicted that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) could release a smart television or improved TV box.
