Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) made a blunder when it let Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) acquire Waze and Nest Labs, Bill Gurley of Benchmark told Emily Chang in an interview for Bloomberg.
Furthermore, the Benchmark general partner said Apple Inc.’s only problem is Android and Google Inc’s taste for going head to head with rivals.
“I think Apple’s only problem – only problem – is Android and Google and Google’s willingness to be aggressive. Apple should have paid anything for Waze – like just flat out,” he said.
According to him, if Apple Inc. spent $3 billion for Beats Electronics which he describes as a “headphone company,” it could have easily spent $2 billion for a maps company if only stop rivals like Google Inc from getting the deal. “It’s a no brainer,” he said.
Waze, a company that deals with social maps, was acquired by the Internet search and advertising giant for close to $1 billion last year.
Furthermore, he said Apple Inc. should have been Google Inc in the acquisition of Nest Labs. Nest Labs was acquired by the Mountain View, California-based giant for $3.2 billion early this year.
“I think they probably should have found a way to buy Nest [Labs] solely because of my deep, deep respect for Tony Fadell,” he said.
Fadell was a former Apple executive credited for his instrumental role in the production of the iPod.
David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital held a stake of about 9.17 million Apple Inc. shares by the end of the third quarter. By the end of the same period, Donald Chiboucis’ Columbus Circle Investors reported owning 423,195 Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) shares.
