News that Apple is about to buy German TV maker Loewe has appeared on the internet over the weekend, with unnamed sources claiming the deal will happen as early as next week.

According to AppleInsider.com: "Word of the negotiations was exclusively revealed to AppleInsider, and although the offer has yet to be accepted, a source claims that Loewe 'has been advised by its financial advisor to accept the offer and a final decision is scheduled to be announced internally before 18 May 2012'."

The site's source says Apple will pay around $112m for the company.

Such a move, if true, would help Apple create the much-rumoured Apple iTV that it is supposedly working on.

Loewe, pronounced Lur-ver, makes minimalist-looking TVs but is a fairly small player in the global TV market dominated by Samsung, Sony, LG and others.

Appleinsider is claiming that the news could be wrong, so don't get your hopes up too much.

"The accuracy of the information provided could not be initially verified, but AppleInsider has shared it in the interest of discussion, particularly as rumors continue to swirl that Apple is preparing to launch its own full-fledge high-definition television set," it said.

Apple has been rumoured for some time to be working on a television that includes the company's Apple TV set-top box.

According to Walter Isaacson, Steve Jobs's biographer, Jobs claimed to have "cracked" what was wrong with the TV industry and how to solve it. He didn't. however, elaborate at the time on what that solution was.

Could it be by buying the German TV maker?

Aside from making TVs, the almost 100-year-old manufacturer has recently ventured into iPhone speaker docks with AirPlay support, and iPad apps to accompany the luxury speakers. 

UPDATE: Loewe is reportedly denying the news. We have contacted the company for a quote.

UPDATE: Loewe has given us the following statement:

"There are some rumours on Loewe and Apple within the social media world. Our official statement is: Loewe does not take part in any rumours in the market. Therefore Loewe will not comment any news on Loewe and Apple. Thank you."