I guess Apple aren’t content with taking over the tech world, because now it appears they are on the verge of snapping up British car maker McLaren for a whopping £1,5 billion (R27 billion).

If it was to take place it would be Apple’s biggest deal since they splashed the cash on Beats by Dre headphones back in 2014.

As of yet details have yet to be finalised, with this below from the Guardian:

Apple has approached McLaren about a takeover but could also make a strategic investment in the company…

McLaren denied that it was in talks with Apple, but it said: “As you would expect, the nature of our business means we regularly have confidential conversations with a wide range of parties, and they need to remain so.

“We can confirm that McLaren is not in discussion with Apple in respect of any potential investment.”

Apple said it “does not comment on rumours or speculation”.

Everyone remaining very tight-lipped at present but, as the BBC suggests about deals such as these, ‘where there’s smoke there’s fire’.

So why would Apple want to splurge on a company that specialises in supercars?

For starters, we’ve known for a while now that Apple is working on car technology [artistic liberty taken below]. Whether it’s planning on developing an actual car is still up in the air, but we know it has been hiring (and firing) people with automotive expertise for the past few years.

We know the company is investing big in external talent, including $1bn in Chinese ride-sharing service Didi Chuxing, the company dominating that market so strongly even Uber decided it didn’t have much chance in that country…

Recent backroom moves surrounding Project Titan – the internal codename for Apple’s car efforts – have seen veteran company [man] Bob Mansfield take the helm.

He’s a tried, tested and trusted figure at Apple. Formerly the company’s top hardware engineer, Mr Mansfield retired a few years ago only to return to oversee development of the Apple Watch. Now, it’s reported that a staff of hundreds working on car-related tech reports to him.

It turns our McLaren aren’t the type of company to waste much time when working on new projects, which is certainly up Apple’s street.

“In the car industry as a whole, almost all companies work on a seven to 10-year cycle for new cars,” said Jim Holder from Autocar magazine.

McLaren is quicker than that, he said – something he felt would appeal to Apple.

“McLaren has proven it can work on a three to five-year cycle,” he added.

I’m sure this one is still a long way off seeing pen on paper, but for now, at least we will see the rumour mill go into overdrive.

[sources:guardian&bbc]