I've been thinking about an Apple (or Google) cash plus stock buyout. These guys are sitting on piles of cash and short term investments earning a relative pittance. If, for example, Apple paid $300/share, with half in stock, it would cost $7.5 billion cash out of pocket and cause only very minor dilution. Assuming the ability to do better than IDCC in licensing, Apple could significantly improve the yield on its cash and equivalents while gaining the offensive and defensive value of IDCC's patent portfolio and staff. Even $15 billion seems like a good deal.
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