Rumor: Apple Taking Over Sony, EA, The Internet Is Ablaze

You might want to take this with a pinch of salt. Financial news site (as well as gaming sites) are ablaze with the speculation that Apply may be buying Sony or EA in the near future.

Here’s the facts: Apple is worth $283.02 billion in the stock exchange. Sony’s worth $33.75 billion. EA just over $5 billion.

Now, Apple has a cool $51 billion cash to spend. So, where will that go? Rumors are rife that the likely targets are Sony, EA, Adobe, Disney Netfilx or even Facebook. That’s a long shopping-list indeed.

“We strongly believe that one or more very strategic opportunities may come along, that we can take, that we’re in a unique position to take advantage of because of our strong cash position,” Apple CEO Steve Jobs told investors.

“So I think that we would like to continue to keep our powder dry because we do feel that there are one or more strategic opportunities in the future.”

What “strategic opportunities”?

Wall Street Kaufman Brothers have tipped EA, Netflix and even Facebook as targets.

Leading financial magazine Barron’s is reportedly suggesting that Apple faces “speculation that it could acquire Adobe Systems, Sony, or even Walt Disney”.

Crazy? Probably. But with a surplus of $51 billion cash, both Sony or EA are in the target range.

In its last fiscal year to March 31, 2010, Sony announced a net loss of 40.8 billion yen ($440 million dollars).

The Japanese hardware giant is estimated to be worth in the region of $40 billion – comfortably in Apple’s price range.

Stay tuned.