Tallahassee, FL 12/12/11 (StreetBeat) --Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) rumored acquisition of Israeli flash storage company Anobit is complete, according to 9to5Mac.The news was first reported on the Israeli news site Calcalist, which claimed Apple paid between $400 million and $500 million for the firm. If true, that would make it Apple's priciest acquisition ever, behind NeXT, the company Apple co-founder Steve Jobs started after getting the boot from Apple in the mid-1980s. Apple later bought NeXT for $404 million, 9to5Mac noted.
Neither Apple nor Anobit has confirmed the acquisition, nor have they even indicated talks were underway. Traditionally, however, Apple has not openly discussed many of its acquisitions, and the company did not respond to a request for comment about Anobit.
However, the Israeli prime minister might have scooped Apple, congratulating the company on its first acquisition in the country via his official Twitter account.
"Welcome to Israel, Apple Inc. on your 1st acquisition here. I'm certain that you'll benefit from the fruit of Israeli knowledge," his office tweeted.
The purported deal is also notable because Apple rarely makes a non-software purchase. In the past two decades, Apple has only bought four hardware companies, including NeXT, P.A. Semi, Raycer Graphics, and Intrinsity.
Apple doesn't confirm suppliers, but it reportedly uses Anobit's technology inside the iPhone, iPad, and MacBook Air. Anobit doesn't list any of its clients, beyond saying on its Web site that its "products are used by world leading flash manufacturers, consumer electronics vendors, and storage system providers."
Anobit also owns a total of 95 patents. At the moment, Apple is waging patent battles against Samsung, HTC, and Motorola around the globe. Yesterday, the International Trade Commission ruled in its favor on one particular Android-related HTC patent, but experts claim the victory is limited in scope.
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