What would be the financial impact on IBM Corp of making an agreed bid for Apple Computer Inc? Any such move would likely be seen as positive for the IBM share price, and the deal is eminently doable – in its bombed-out state, the IBM share price means that the company is currently capitalised at about $60,000m, and Apple should be winnable at not much more than annual sales – say a take-out price of $6,000m to $6,500m, and IBM, which has a very strong balance sheet and superb credit ratings, would likely offer a cash element, limiting any dilution – which given the current dismal profit outlook would not be very substantial anyway; is it going to happen? The odds are still against, but they are a whole lot shorter now than they were when the possibility was first canvassed here at the beginning of the year.
