Microsoft would make a lot of money if it kept the shares it bought from Apple in 1997

Tram Ho

That was the year Apple Boards asked Steve Jobs to come back to save the company, when the company was facing a lot of difficulties in competing with competitors, especially Microsoft. In just two years, its revenue has dropped from 11 billion to only 7 billion.

To stay afloat, Apple must decide which assets are considered the most essential, the most important, and should be focused on further strengthening. And they also have to form new relationships, even if that means “going night with the devil”. And no one expected that among the many companies that were able to act, the big rival Microsoft was the one who gave Apple the lifeline.

Exactly Apple had to sell Microsoft shares worth $ 150 million in exchange for that life buoy. And yet, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs also agreed to sign a patent license agreement to let Microsoft support Microsoft Office on the Mac for five years, and Apple made Internet Explorer the default browser on the Mac. ” We have to forget the idea that for Apple to win, Microsoft must lose, ” Jobs said of the deal.

Of course, Microsoft does not help out because of its altruism. With that huge amount of money, they are looking for ways to allay the doubts surrounding the company’s monopoly position.

Microsoft sẽ kiếm được bộn tiền nếu vẫn giữ lại số cổ phiếu từng mua từ Apple vào năm 1997 - Ảnh 1.

So what happened to Microsoft’s $ 150 million stake in Apple?

Under the agreement, Microsoft must hold those shares for at least three years. In 2002, it started selling its Apple stock, and it sold out in mid-2003. In total, Microsoft has earned about $ 550 million, or a 260% increase in just six years.

But what if Microsoft kept those shares to date?

Microsoft held approximately 18.1 million Apple shares at the start of the sale. Since then, many stock splits have occurred: once was 2 for 1 on February 28, 2005 and once was 7 for 1 on June 9, 2014. That means those 18.1 million shares would represent 253.4 million shares today. Multiplying this number by the current share price of $ 503.43 per share will result in $ 127.5 billion, or 5.9% of Apple’s total value ($ 2.1 trillion).

Thus, Microsoft’s $ 150 million so far is worth more than 850 times!

Reference: TheNextWeb

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Source : Genk