We have almost $25 billion safely in the bank and zero debt. This provides us tremendous stability and the ability to invest our way through this downturn. This is what we did during the last downturn\u2013we increased R&D investments and created some of our best new products and businesses, like the Apple retail stores, for one. This downturn may also present some extraordinary opportunities for companies that have the cash to take advantage of them, like Apple does.\u201d<\/p>\n
— Apple CEO Steve Jobs, Oct. 21, 2008<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n But that may soon change, because Cupertino finally has a dedicated acquisitions specialist, Adrian Perica. According to BusinessWeek<\/a>, the former Goldman Sachs banker — who was brought in after Apple reportedly lost AdMob to Google<\/a> — is believed to have quarterbacked the company\u2019s purchase of music site Lala in December<\/a> and its subsequent purchase of Quattro Wireless earlier this month<\/a>. Both were executed uncharateristically quickly for Apple, which suggests that company\u2019s lackadaisical, ad hoc approach to M&A has been recast to make it, necessarily, more nimble. Said one Silicon Valley banker, \u201c[Apple\u2019s] always gone slow on M&A, but that’s changing.\u201d<\/p>\n Perhaps it\u2019s time for that long-rumored merger with Adobe (ADBE). Incidentally, Adobe\u2019s market cap is $18.66 billion. \u2026 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Buy This Item: [Click here to buy this item]<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n![\"AAPLMA\"](\"http:\/\/www.stoth.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-o-matic\/cache\/4ab3d_AAPLMA-199x300.jpg\")
<\/a>Apple made its first acquisition on March 2, 1988 with the purchase of Network Innovations. Since that time it\u2019s made just 23 more<\/a>, including its recent $275 million purchase of Quattro Wireless<\/a>. Which isn\u2019t all that many for a company with $23 billion in the bank (as a point of comparison, Google has acquired 11 companies in the last 18 months, alone).<\/p>\n