Call of the week: Wall Street speculates Apple-Disney mega merger

Apple (AAPL) could potentially reach a multibillion-dollar deal to acquire Disney (DIS), creating a company that would “be massive, with enough cash and balance sheet capacity to change the nature of the hardware, service, and content industries.”

That’s according to a research note from analysts at RBC Capital Markets. Their speculation of a possible deal sent shock waves through Wall Street this week.

RBC noted three reasons why a deal with Disney would make sense for Apple. They say content is a major focus for the tech giant, target size isn’t an issue and it would diversify Apple away from the iPhone, which has been a big concern for many Wall Street skeptics.

They went on to say a combined Apple and Disney would accelerate Apple’s push into services and content, and enable the tech giant to “instantly leapfrog Netflix, Amazon and YouTube in content.”

Now, it’s important to note that even though RBC analysts say the probability of Apple buying Disney is “greater than 0%,” the odds are still low. Historically, Apple has not executed any massive deals. Its largest acquisition on record is its recent $2.2 billion deal to buy Beats Inc. But RBC noted “if there’s a deal out there that would strike fear in the hearts of Silicon Valley and Hollywood, this could be it.”

RBC Capital reiterated its outperform rating and $155 price target for Apple, and maintained its outperform rating and $130 price target on Disney.

Disney’s stock closed the week up 0.5% and is up more than 24% in the past six months.

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