What do you do if you’re a large technology company with over $200 billion in cash reserves and are looking at ways to spend some of it?

If you’re Apple, Inc. you might consider buying Time Warner, Inc, the owner of HBO, CNN and Warner Bros., according to one report Thursday.

FT claims that Apple’s Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue broaching the idea of a possible acquisition at a meeting with Time Warner’s Executive Vice President, International and Corporate Strategy Olaf Olafsson in late 2015.

The proposed bid was said to have never progressed, and was so preliminary that Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook was not involved.

That Apple would consider buying one of the world’s largest media companies is indicitive of Apple’s desire to obtain exclusive content; Time Warner owns a multitude of cable companies, all of which could be delivered through an Apple TV, let alone its range of iPhones and iPads.

The potential may also be related to Apple taking an interest in new markets to drive growth, particularly where there a possibly crossover opportunities, at a time the company is predicting slower sales growth, especially with its iPhone range.

Guessing game

With so much money in the bank it’s not a question of if Apple will acquire or invest in companies versus a guessing game of which ones.

Apple has already started spending some of that money, including unexpectedly investing a cool $1 billion into Chinese ride sharing service Didi Chuxing two weeks ago, indicating that when it came to investment opportunities it was willing to look far and wide.

Given it’s unlikely Apple would acquire a competing computing company, guesses could include Apple buying a car maker (well, mostly Tesla, Inc.), a movie or media company, a smart home device maker, and that’s just to name a few possibilities.

If you were having a bet, you’d put your money on Apple making at least one big acquisition before the end of the year.

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