Apple Inc. and General Electric are two of the most iconic American companies of the last century, but back in 1996 they almost become one company as GE CEO Jack Welch considered buying the computer maker.

It would have only cost GE $2 billion and the current Apple CEO, Michael Spindler, was begging Welch to pull the trigger on the deal in order to save the struggling company.

Apple has climbed up to the second spot in Interbrand’s “Best Global Brands” survey of 2012, with an estimated brand value of $76.5 billion. The Cupertino company is second only to Coca-Cola, worth an estimated $77.8 billion, and it leaves IBM, Google, and Microsoft trailing behind.

When your company is 120-years-old and synonymous with the light bulb, it can be difficult convincing prospective workers that you’re hip and with it. But GE thinks it has what it takes: the iPhone. An executive says its support of the Apple handset helps new employees see the global conglomerate as a ‘contemporary company.’