Apple acquired NeXT in 1997, bringing Steve Jobs back to the company. Apple finalized the deal on February 7, 1997, after announcing its intention to acquire NeXT in December 1996.
Apple paid about $427 million in a combination of cash, shares, stock options, and debt. The acquisition was important less for NeXT's hardware business than for its software: NeXTSTEP provided the modern foundation Apple needed to replace the aging classic Mac OS. NeXT's technology was later developed into Mac OS X and, ultimately, the foundations of macOS and related Apple systems.
Jobs initially returned as an Apple consultant and became interim CEO later in 1997. He took the CEO role on a permanent basis in 2000. The purchase also brought NeXT engineers and executives into Apple, while NeXT technology influenced products and software architecture for decades. The date is sometimes confused with 1996 because that was when Apple announced the planned acquisition, not when the transaction was completed.