Tim Cook is the apple of Goldman Sachs’ eye.
Goldman is trying to persuade Apple to make a rival bid for Time Warner, a source with direct knowledge of the situation said.
“They are freaking out trying to convince Apple to come in,” the source said. Goldman has been left on the sidelines in advising on AT&T’s $85 billion agreement to acquire Time Warner.
In 2009, Apple hired Goldman banker Adrian Perica to head its mergers practice, and now he has his staff looking for acquisition targets, the source said.
Cook’s company has expressed interest in buying Time Warner in the recent past, and there is some belief that judging from his comments this week, he will not let AT&T carry the day.
On Apple’s earnings call on Wednesday, he said, “We are open to acquisitions of any size that are of strategic value, where we can deliver better products to our customers and innovate more. And so we look at a whole variety of companies, and based on that, we choose whether to move forward or not. But we’re definitely open, and we definitely look.”
“I would confirm that television has intense interest with me and many other people here. In terms of owning content and creating content.” Goldman declined comment.