Apple business deals - page 2

Apple and Hyundai may have had the business equivalent of a high school relationship in the past few weeks. First they were just friends, then going steady, and now they appear to have broken up — and Apple’s got the hots for someone else. All on a suitably compressed timeline, of course.

Bloomberg reported the breakup Sunday, saying Apple has paused discussions with Hyundai and affiliate Kia Motors about building an electric car. Apple’s now supposedly talking to other automobile companies about a possible deal.

Apple could be poised to sign a $3.6 billion deal with Kia Motors to build Apple Car, Bloomberg reports Wednesday, citing Korean news outlet DongA Ilbo.

The report says Apple and Kia, which is owned by Hyundai, could sign a deal as soon as February 17. It would then aim to “introduce Apple cars in 2024,” with a possible target of produce 100,000 electric vehicles per year, according to DongA Ilbo.

December 13, 1994: Apple strikes a deal with Bandai, Japan’s largest toymaker, to license Mac technology for the creation of a new videogame console called the Pippin.

The device, powered by a PowerPC 603 CPU and running a stripped-down, CD-ROM-based version of Mac OS, shows a struggling Apple is willing to take a chance on something new. Unfortunately, the Pipping becomes a total sales disaster.

Even though Google pays a hefty sum to stay the default iPhone search engine, an industry analyst suggests Apple should buy rival DuckDuckGo anyway.

That likely wouldn’t be the end of Google and Apple’s cooperation on search, according to AllianceBernstein’s Toni Sacconaghi. But it would strengthen Apple’s bargaining position.

The Federal Trade Commission wants tech giants, including Apple, to give more information about previous mergers and acquisitions considered too small to report to antitrust regulators.

The move comes as Justice Department, FTC, state attorneys general and the House Judiciary Committee ramp up investigations into big tech. Politicians have accused tech giants of using their size and power to illegally defend market share or move into new areas.

Seinfeld star Julia Louis-Dreyfus is coming to Apple TV+.

The Veep alum signed her first-ever multiyear content deal, which will see the actress both develop and star in TV shows and other content exclusively for the iPhone-maker.

Apple has been in early talks to possibly buy MGM Holdings and an equity stake in the Pac-12 Networks, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. The deals could bring important live and on-demand content to grow Apple’s TV+ streaming service.

The $1 billion Apple spent on Intel’s modem business is the second-largest acquisition in the company’s 42-year history.

Still, while a huge amount of money by most normal standards, rival tech giants regularly dwarf Apple’s big spend on Intel. For a variety of reasons, Apple just doesn’t roll that way.

Apple put a ton of pressure on The New York Times and Washington Post to join Apple News+ before the new service was unveiled at a media event last week.

Details have surfaced of Apple’s negotiations with the two major publishers, revealing Apple media boss Eddy Cue was adamant about getting the two papers on board. Both companies declined Apple’s offer, but the New York Times’ COO hinted that the newspaper of record could possibly join the service in the future.

Update: Williamson County elected to award Apple tax breaks worth $16 million over 15 years. The Williamson County commissioners voted 5-0 to approve the deal. Another $25 million will come from the Texas Enterprise Fund.

Apple apparently netted itself a good deal for its newly announced $1 billion campus in Austin, Texas. According to a new report, Williamson County could pay back 65 percent of property taxes to Apple in exchange for a long-term commitment to creating jobs.

The money would be paid in yearly installments. It would start when Apple hires 700 people, then continue for the next 15 years. In return, Apple would invest $400 million and hire 4,000 people for the new site.

In the latest sign that Cupertino is serious about video, Apple signed media superstar Oprah Winfrey to a multi-year deal. Cupertino’s growing original content team will work with the “Queen of All Media” to whip up original shows.

Apple could make a significant investment in LG Display’s new OLED production facility to ensure exclusive supply for future iPhones, according to a new report.

The company is said to be considering a 2 trillion to 3 trillion won (approx. $1.75 billion to $2.62 billion) deal, and a final decision is expected later this month.

Apple may have just made a key acquisition that could help the company create a truly revolutionary augmented reality headset. According to a new report, German eye-tracking company SensoMotoric Instruments has been purchased by an Apple shell company, giving the iPhone-maker access the company’s trove of patents related to eye-tracking glasses and other systems.

More tech giants are joining Apple in the consortium bidding to acquire Toshiba’s semiconductor business.

Led by Foxconn, other companies involved in the potential bid include Dell, Google, Microsoft and Cisco. Amazon is also reportedly considering joining.

Apple is taking another big step to make sure it can utilize 100 percent renewable energy for its operations by expanding the solar farm it uses in Nevada.

The company revealed today that it has reached an agreement with NV Energy to add infrastructure that will generate 200 megawatts of additional solar energy by 2019. Energy created by the project will go to power Apple’s Reno data center, but some of the power will also be available to residents.

Sonos, maker of some the best wireless speaker systems in the world, revealed today that it will add support for Apple Music by the end of the year.

The says a public beta for Apple Music on Sonos will be made available December 15. Sonos’ integration with Apple Music will allow subscribers to access the For You, My Music, New and Radio features of the service. A general availability to all users is scheduled for an early 2016 launch.

Apple’s creation of the Beats 1 radio station has been one of the best parts about the company’s new Apple Music streaming service, but it might not be Apple’s only station for much longer.

As part of the deal Apple signed with major labels ahead of launch, Apple Music has the option to expand its lineup of Beats radio stations nearly at will, according to a new report citing sources with knowledge of the situation.