You know how YC investors pick teams, not products? Apple at the time bought a team, not the technology. They also bought credibility by bringing a founder back

You know how YC investors pick teams, not products? Apple at the time bought a team, not the technology. They also bought credibility by bringing a founder back on-board. Apple's biggest problem at the time was bad management, followed by credibility. They solved both problems and got some technology (ObjC, what would become Darwin, etc) as a free bonus. The complete NeXT takeover of management made it more like a reverse acquisition in any case and the results speak for themselves.