Apple's Anobit buy a done deal, report says
The iPhone maker reportedly paid between $400 million and $500 million for Anobit, but so far neither company has said a deal exists.
Apple has acquired Israel-based flash memory startup Anobit, a report claims.
The deal, according to Israel's Calcalist business news site (Google Translate), is in the $400 million to $500 million range. Earlier today, Anobit apparently informed its employees that Apple had made an offer that it had accepted and that they were on their way to being employed by the iPhone maker.
Today's report follows a claim made by Calcalist last week, saying that Apple and Anobit were nearing a deal.
Anobit's flash memory technology is found in Apple's iPhone, iPad, and MacBook Air. The startup also sells enterprise storage solutions. Apple's decision to acquire the company might have to do with its desire to increase margins, since it'll now get its memory at cost, rather than be forced to pay a premium to a third party. What's more, one of Apple's chief competitors--Samsung--is also an Anobit customer.
But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, it's worth noting that neither Apple nor Anobit has confirmed the acquisition. In fact, the companies haven't even said if they were discussing a deal. But in the past, Apple has completed acquisitions that it never announces.
However, this time, another stakeholder might have spoken out of turn. The Israeli prime minister's Twitter account, run by new media director Eitan Eliram, congratulated Apple this morning on its first acquisition in the country.
"Welcome to Israel, Apple Inc., on your 1st acquisition here," the prime minister's office tweeted. "I'm certain that you'll benefit from the fruit of the Israeli knowledge."
Although it seems to corroborate Calcalist's claims, there's no telling whether the tweet was due to inside knowledge or was just a response to the news outlet's story.
Apple did not immediately respond to CNET's request for comment on the reported acquisition.