Articles about Mergers and Acquisitions

In the fast-paced world of corporate mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and divestitures, integrating tech infrastructures offers significant challenges and opportunities for growth. As companies seek to unify, separate, and streamline their operations, the role of reliable migration tools becomes crucial in ensuring seamless transitions and maintaining data integrity.

According to Deal Barometer, M&A activity is expected to rise by 20 percent this year, emphasizing the need for effective IT strategies during these transformations. Given the complexities of migrating data during a merger, acquisition, or divestiture, IT leaders should seek solutions to ensure a smooth, secure transition.

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Microsoft's attempt to acquire Activision Blizzard has been a long, drawn-out affair with a seemingly endless series of obstacles along the way. Now the company has indicated a willingness to make major concessions as it submits a revised deal for approval.

Facing regulator opposition to the deal in the UK so far, Microsoft's latest proposal to the CMA (Competitions and Markets Authority) includes an offer to sell cloud gaming rights to Ubisoft.

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The use of artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming how tech assets are evaluated for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) through more efficient, accurate, and predictive analyses.

M&A involves complex activities across multiple phases, requiring cohesive cooperation within a competitive timeframe. However, technologies like AI and data analytics have emerged as crucial drivers for successful M&A transactions. As Kevin Knoepp, operating partner and CTO at Trilogy Search Partners, notes, these tools significantly accelerate each step of the M&A process.

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An investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has concluded that Microsoft's proposed $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard could lead to higher prices, fewer choices and less innovation.

The UK regulator has been looking into the planned takeover for a number of months, and has now warned that the merger, "could make Microsoft even stronger in cloud gaming, stifling competition in this growing market". The CMA also says there is a risk of, "weakening the important rivalry between Xbox and PlayStation gaming consoles", ultimately harming gamers who cannot afford expensive consoles.

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As competition hots up, companies are aiming for more transformational change in a crowded market, with many turning to mergers and acquisitions of other players in a bid to achieve that. This shows no signs of slowing down in 2022 and beyond, with 92 percent of corporate respondents anticipating the same or an increase in the deal volume over the next 12 months according to Deloitte.

Whilst the overarching focus is on the financial side, the work going on under the surface to make these mergers a success is monumental, and fraught with difficulties due to the business demands for rapid change. While sometimes overlooked, the role of IT teams during M&As is pivotal in ensuring there is no disruption when it comes to accessing or sharing resources.

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Smallpdf, the online PDF editing and management toolbox, has announced that it is acquiring document processing technology provider PDF Tools for $30 million.

Both companies are based in Switzerland and have a history of working together -- PDF Tools products have been used by Smallpdf for a number of years -- so the acquisition is not a complete surprise. It sees Smallpdf spreading further into the document management market, boosting its professional offerings thanks in part to the PDF and PDF/A arciving support provided by PDF Tools.

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Following on from news of merger talks last month, NortonLifeLock has confirmed that it is buying Avast in a deal that values the Czech-based and London stock exchange listed firm at up to $8.6bn (£6.2bn).

In a joint statement the companies say that the combined business will serve more than 500 million cybersecurity customers, including around 40 million direct customers.

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Visa has announced that it has agreed to purchase Plaid as part of a deal worth $5.3 billion. The acquisition values the fintech company at around double its valuation following a 2018 Series C funding round.

Plaid is behind financial services APIs used by the likes of Coinbase, Gemini, Venmo and Transferwise. Its software allows for easier sharing of financial details, making it simpler to connect services to bank accounts. Plaid says the acquisition will help it continue to "accelerate the success of the fintech ecosystem".

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PayPal has agreed to pay $4 billion to acquire Honey Science Corporation, which is best-known for its reward and deal-finding service and browser add-on.

The acquisition still needs the usual regulatory approval, but the transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2020. The company says that the purchase "will transform the shopping experience for PayPal's consumers while increasing sales and customer engagement for its merchants".

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With a seemingly endless array of cloud storage services to choose from, you may well find that you want to switch allegiances at some point. Jumping from one service to another can be a pain, but with its purchase of Mover, Microsoft has just made it much easier to make the move to OneDrive.

Details of the deal have not been revealed, but Microsoft is keen for people to use the service to migrate from one several supported cloud providers to either OneDrive or SharePoint.

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IBM has closed its acquisition of Red Hat following the statement of intent back in October. Following the $34 billion deal, Red Hat will operate as a distinct unit within IBM -- and will be reported as part of IBM's Cloud and Cognitive Software segment.

For IBM, the deal means fully embracing open source as it looks to accelerate its business model within the enterprise. For Red Hat, it means expanding its client base and working with a big player in the enterprise cloud business.

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NVIDIA has announced that it plans to buy Israeli chipmaker Mellanox. Fending off competition from Microsoft and Intel, NVIDIA's bid of $6.9 billion was enough to secure the deal which is expected to be finalized by the end of the year.

As part of the agreement, NVIDIA will purchase all Mellanox shares for $125 each in cash. It sees the company expanding further into high-performance computing and supercomputers, and boosts its datacenter business.

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Cloud storage firm Dropbox has announced that it is to acquire HelloSign -- a San Francisco-based startup that provides electronic signature and document workflow services -- for $230 million in cash.

The acquisition is the largest ever made by Dropbox, and it is expected to be completed in the first quarter of the year. The purchase bolsters Dropbox's offerings and gives it a firm footing to better compete with the likes of DocuSign.

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The Federal Communications Commission has announced that it is stopping the clock on its review into the merger of T-Mobile and Sprint.

The 180-day review clock has been paused at day 55 as the Commission says that it is awaiting the arrival of new submissions from both companies that are "complex". The delay will give the FCC more time to analyze these documents -- and a third submission -- when they are received.

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Slack and its rivals Atlassian have announced they are forming a strategic partnership that will see chat tools HipChat and Stride closed down.

As part of the deal, Atlassian has made an equity investment in Slack, while Slack has acquired the intellectual property rights for Stride and HipChat Cloud. Moving forward, Stride, HipChat Cloud, HipChat Server and HipDhat Data Center will all be discontinued, and users will be offered a migration path to Slack -- making it even stronger competition for Microsoft's Teams.

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