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Big Technology Deals Don't Always Compute for Buyers

Big Technology Deals Don't Always Compute for Buyers

By Associated Press | Updated: 13 October 2015 13:40 IST

Dell's proposed $67 billion acquisition of data storage company EMC is the most expensive ever done involving two technology companies. Many of the tech industry's other notable deals haven't panned out as well as the buyers planned. Here's a look back at some of those past acquisitions:

Avago Technologies Ltd. agrees to buy Broadcom for $37 billion (roughly Rs. 2,40,336 crores) in May of this year
This deal isn't expected to be completed until next year, so it's still too early to assess. By joining forces, the rival chipmakers are hoping to make a bigger dent in the rapidly growing wireless device market.

Facebook buys WhatsApp for about $21.8 billion (roughly Rs. 1,41,603 crores) in 2014
The social media company expanded its messaging service capabilities with this purchase, which seems to be progressing well for Facebook so far. WhatsApp now has more than 900 million users, doubling its audience at the time Facebook Inc. announced the deal. It remains unclear, though, whether WhatsApp will turn into a major moneymaker for Facebook.

Hewlett-Packard buys Compaq for about $19 billion (roughly Rs. 1,23,416 crores) in 2002
This deal was championed by then-CEO Carly Fiorina as a way for HP to become a more formidable rival to computer maker IBM, but faced staunch resistance from some prominent shareholders, including some of the heirs to the HP's founders. The acquisition helped establish HP's largest maker of personal computers for many years, but the deal has lost its luster as sales of desktop and laptop machines have declined with the growing popularity of smartphones and tablets.

Symantec buys Veritas for about $13.5 billion (roughly Rs. 87,690 crores) in 2005
The security software company expanded its storage software capabilities with the buyout. This deal turned out to be another mismatch, culminating in Symantec's decision this summer to sell Veritas for $8 billion (roughly Rs. 51,964 crores) to the Carlyle Group and Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, GIC.

Hewlett-Packard buys Electronic Data Systems for about $13 billion (roughly Rs. 84,442 crores) in 2008
The computer maker aimed to bolster its technology consulting services with the purchase, but HP has had trouble retaining customers. EDS will be part of a new spin-off called HP Enterprises, which will start out by laying off 25,000 to 30,000 people, or 10 percent to 12 percent of its workforce.

Google buys Motorola Mobility Holdings for $12.4 billion (roughly Rs. 80,545 crores) in 2012
The Internet company primarily bought Motorola for its portfolio of 17,000 mobile patents, but Google also inherited an unprofitable division that made smartphones. After losing more than $2 billion in less than two years, Google sold Motorola's smartphone business to the Lenovo Group for $2.9 billion (roughly Rs. 18,837 crores) and held on to the patents. Google had previously sold a Motorola division that makes television set-top boxes to the Arris Group for $2.35 billion (roughly Rs. 15,264 crores).

Oracle buys PeopleSoft for $11.1 billion (roughly Rs. 72,100 crores) in 2005
The purchase of the maker of human resources software turned Oracle in to a more formidable rival to SAP in the market for business management applications. In recent years, Oracle has been contending with a new threat from Workday, a specialist in online personnel services that was started by PeopleSoft founder David Duffield.

Hewlett-Packard buys Autonomy for about $10 billion (roughly Rs. 64,955 crores) in 2011
The computer maker aimed to bolster its software and services offerings with the buyout, but this deal blew up quickly amid allegations that Autonomy had misled HP about its sales. HP absorbed an $8.8 billion (roughly Rs. 57,161 crores) charge to reflect that Autonomy wasn't worth the price that HP paid for it.

(Also see: HP to pay $10 billion for Autonomy as it exits mobile)

Microsoft buys Skype for about $8.5 billion (roughly Rs. 55,212 crores) in 2011
The software company bolstered its online video calling technology with this buyout.

Oracle buys Sun Microsystems for $7.4 billion (roughly Rs. 48,067 crores) in 2010
The buyout gave Oracle ownership of the Java programming language and catapulted the software company into the hardware business. Analysts have been generally unimpressed with the payoff that Oracle has gotten from Sun Microsystems so far.

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