Mediaboss Marketing

Apple says it is buying back $10 billion in stock and launching a dividend payment to spend just under half of its cash pile on shareholders in the next three years.

While Apple has avoided big acquisitions instead favoring buying smaller companies with admired technology, that other half of the pile could still go to making some pretty big acquisitions.

[More from WSJ.com: IPad Exposed]

Allow Deal Journal to imagine Tim Cook is viewing his situation similarly to Richard Pryor in Brewsters Millions. In this case Uncle Steve has left him a mountain of cash, and Tim has to spend it to make even more riches for shareholders and himself.

This is what Deal Journal sees him potentially shopping for if thats the case.

NetflixIf Apple is looking for a jolt to its entertainment business, it could find a good deal in Netflix and muscle movie studios the way it muscled music studios with iTunes. An with Apple launching into the television world, a source of streaming TV could be a big help.

Research in MotionA deal would create a behemoth in smartphone technology, so much so that Google an others would likely have a good argument for antitrust authorities to put a stop to it. But if the iPhones biggest weakness is corporate concerns about email and security, the patents RIM holds would be dear to Apple.

[More from WSJ.com: Mets Owners to Pay $162 Million to Madoff Trustee]

SamsungSee above, antitrust would be a serious headache and even Apples cash wouldnt be enough, but given that Samsung makes a lot of Apple parts. A family of iPhones on different budgets would have plenty of new demographic targets.

T-MobileMaybe Apple is content to let RIM wallow in its attempt to catch up, and would rather take to giving iPhone users the service for the device. Just like it built iTunes up to feed iPods and the App Store to sell to iPhones, Apple wants to control a users entire experience. Acquiring a cell network would do that to a new degree. (Sorry, Phil Falcone, even these money bags are unlikely to take a bet and bail you out of Lightsquared.)

See more here:
Apple Shopping Spree: What Could Tim Cook Buy