Apple TSMC Acquisition

TSMC is already a major Apple partner, Apple had no reason to start a talent war here. Remember, Apple squeezes suppliers and labor (wage fixing from the Steve Jobs days).They only build their own stuff when they see a competitive advantage to doing so — when IBM stopped delivering on chip efficiency or when Intel’s chips started stagnating.

Yup, if it means Apple needed TSMC more than in the other way around

1. It isn't for sale.2. TSMC is much larger than Apple's manufacturing requirements. To keep it running, they would have to commit to doing a lot of contract work for other companies, which really isn't Apple's style. Moreover, many of TSMC's current clients (like AMD, Intel, Nvidia, and Qualcomm) might be uncomfortable with Apple controlling the company, as that would introduce conflicts of interest.3. Owning TSMC would put Apple in charge of the company's te

I wouldn’t count on it. Apple is vertically integrated, but doesn’t do their own manufacturing. It’s not necessary when They can dominate the supply chain and hold a practical monopsony on the best production capacity anywhere. This is why everyone else was lagging to produce 5nm parts -- Apple simply bought 100% of TSMC’s capacity.

TSMC is a critical supplier of Apple and a bunch of Apple's competitors. Making it Apple-exclusive would kill AMD, Nvidia and most Android phones (Samsung and Huawei are the only exceptions using subpar non-TSMC chips) overnight. There is no way in hell that any antitrust regulator allows Apple to destroy their competitors with an anticompetitive purchase of a supplier.

Apple doesnt manufacture their own chips or assemble their own devices. They are certainly paying the profit margins of TSMC, Foxconn, and many other suppliers.

This isn't how it works. Apple has exclusive deals in place with many of its suppliers. Many of the parts Apple buy are either not available for anyone else, or not available at the same price.One way Apple has done this is to provide some of the initial capital needed for new plants/technologies. For example, if retooling a plant for new LCD production costs $1 billion, Apple might front 1/2 the money in exchange for 6-18month exclusivity on those panels.Also, Apple has scale in its favor

TSMC has tons of custom IP on top of ASML machines. Apple could try but becoming leading fab company is something that could consume significant part of their cash without guarantee they'll succeed, and even if, that's a very long term project.

I would imagine that this is the reason Apple likes to sit on a huge pile of money instead of giving it to investors. Any supplier that tries to put the hard word on Apple knows that they risk Apple massively investing in a competitor to get another source for components. Apple already has all of the silicon design know-how in house, I don't think they would have trouble finding another supplier if Samsung decided to be difficult.

Why hasn't Apple just bought TSMC?