Top 10 tech mergers

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Posted on 9 Aug 2010 at 16:07

Google/DoubleClick

Google bought DoubleClick, one of the world’s biggest internet advertising networks, in 2007 for $3.1 billion and set off alarm bells right across the technology industry. It gave Google a massive presence in banner advertising, but raised certain competitive concerns as Google is undeniably the biggest beneficiary from internet advertising through its keyword advertising technology; adding one of the biggest ad networks helps to insulate that position.

Many companies complained to regulators about the merger, saying that if the deal went through it could pose serious privacy and antitrust problems. It eventually made it past competition regulators in the US and Europe though.

Almost all of DoubleClick’s original employees have left the company since the acquisition. There were several rounds of layoffs, while others decided to leave the search giant.

Microsoft/Yahoo

It can only be described as the merger that never was after the two companies agreed an internet search advertising deal, but it could easily have been the biggest since the crazy AOL Time Warner deal in 2001. Microsoft started proceedings by making public a $42.3 billion offer to acquire Yahoo.

Jerry Yang was Yahoo’s chief executive at the time and had a vision that would enable the internet giant to return to its former pre dot-com bomb glory. He was too close to the company and let emotions get in the way of what would have been one of the biggest cash-ins ever.

Yahoo rejected the offer weeks later, saying that Microsoft’s valuation was too low – even though the software giant offered what many felt was too much to pay for Yahoo. The two companies went back and forth for several months until Microsoft got fed up and walked away from the negotiating table.

Yahoo’s shareholders then revolted and Yang was removed when the company’s stock was trading at a fraction of what Microsoft offered. Carol Bartz, Yahoo’s next CEO, managed to salvage a search advertising partnership from the deal’s ashes, but it wouldn’t make up for the amount of money lost by the company’s shareholders.

Author: Expert Reviews Staff