Apple's Acquisitions Tripled in Fiscal 2013 - Businessweek

From a round-up of Apple's recent shopping list

"No recent Apple purchase was as eye-popping as Microsoft’s $7.2 billion September deal for Nokia’s (NOK) mobile phone unit or even Yahoo!’s (YHOO) $1.1 billion May acquisition of blog platform Tumblr. Evans says Apple’s biggest deals are subtle. It’s committed more than $20 billion in prepayments to parts- and equipment-making companies, often helping build factories in exchange for exclusive access. In these “quasi acquisitions,” Evans says, “they are getting the benefit of owning it without actually buying it.”"

Apple's Acquisitions Tripled in Fiscal 2013 - Businessweek