M&A Mania? Microsoft Has Yet to Announce a Single Acquisition in 2010

By

Despite its deep pockets and focus on new product developments, Microsoft hasn’t made a single acquisition this year, according to CB Insights. Although the company sealed some deals in 2010 (Sentillion for example), these were all announced in 2009.  As of Sept. 24, Microsoft has yet to announce a single acquisition in 2010.  In fact, every other major tech company in the world has acquired at least 3 companies while Microsoft continues to keep a tight hold of its purse strings.

Perhaps Microsoft could learn a trick or two from Google. The Internet giant’s acquisition pace is significantly greater – almost double – of the next most acquisitive tech company, IBM.  Google’s mix of acquisitions is quite varied with them doing larger acquisitions ($100 million plus) and also doing smaller talent acquisitions (the popularly coined “acqu-hire”), according to CB Insights. What’s more, Google completed 23 acquisitions year-to-date. As if making up for lost time, this year’s total is equivalent to Google’s cumulative acquisition total from 2007 to 2009.

Acquisition-happy IBM recently announced it will be acquiring Blade Network technologies, a provider of blade and top-of-rack switches as well as network virtualization software for a rumored sum of $400 million.

And then there’s Facebook which, as CB Insights reports, has jumped ahead of industry stalwarts such as Cisco and Oracle. That said, the social networking titan’s acquisitions are considerably more niche than the purchases being made by the likes of industry stalwarts such as Oracle, Dell, Cisco and Apple. Consider, for example, Hewlett Packard which just completed its acquisition of data-storage maker 3Par for $2.35 billion. The deal followed in the footsteps of a bidding war with Dell as HP aims to increase its data storage and cloud computing capabilities.




Edited by Erin Harrison
Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. [Free eNews Subscription]

TechZone360 Contributing Editor

SHARE THIS ARTICLE
Related Articles

ChatGPT Isn't Really AI: Here's Why

By: Contributing Writer    4/17/2024

ChatGPT is the biggest talking point in the world of AI, but is it actually artificial intelligence? Click here to find out the truth behind ChatGPT.

Read More

Revolutionizing Home Energy Management: The Partnership of Hub Controls and Four Square/TRE

By: Reece Loftus    4/16/2024

Through a recently announced partnership with manufacturer Four Square/TRE, Hub Controls is set to redefine the landscape of home energy management in…

Read More

4 Benefits of Time Tracking Software for Small Businesses

By: Contributing Writer    4/16/2024

Time tracking is invaluable for every business's success. It ensures teams and time are well managed. While you can do manual time tracking, it's time…

Read More

How the Terraform Registry Helps DevOps Teams Increase Efficiency

By: Contributing Writer    4/16/2024

A key component to HashiCorp's Terraform infrastructure-as-code (IaC) ecosystem, the Terraform Registry made it to the news in late 2023 when changes …

Read More

Nightmares, No More: New CanineAlert Device for Service Dogs Helps Reduce PTSD for Owners, Particularly Veterans

By: Alex Passett    4/11/2024

Canine Companions, a nonprofit organization that transforms the lives of veterans (and others) suffering PTSD with vigilant service dogs, has debuted …

Read More