Apple Sinks on Rumors of Universal Purchase

Shares of Apple(AAPL Quote) were dropping nearly 8% on a report that the company could make a multibillion-dollar bid for Universal Music Group.

The stock was off $1.08, to $13.29 in early afternoon trading.

The share swoon followed a story on the L.A. Times Web site that said Apple is in talks with Vivendi(V Quote) to buy its Universal Music Group for up to $6 billion. The piece said discussions had been kept secret for several months and that a bid could be made before Vivendi's April 29 board meeting. ...