There’s a 40% chance that Apple will buy Netflix thanks to U.S. president Donald Trump’s corporate tax cuts, analysts predict.
The Republican tax plan will allow companies a one-time chance to repatriate cash and reduce tax rates for corporate income in the U.S. and abroad. Apple has used overseas tax havens to avoid paying taxes on 94% of its $252 billion in cash.
Bringing some of that money back into the U.S. may allow the company to make major acquisitions. Citi analysts Jim Suva and Asiya Merchant say the company’s ongoing quest to create a viable TV and movie offer made Netflix the most likely acquisition for Apple. Disney was also a top contender for acquisition, albeit before it agreed to acquire 21st Century Fox.
Suva and Merchant say under Trump’s proposed tax holiday on repatriating cash, Apple could have as much as $220 billion for mergers and acquisitions. They estimated the company would only need to spend about a third of that to acquire Netflix.