The year 2018 was a blockbuster year for the technology M&A activity. The year recorded the highest value ($585 billion) in M&A activities over the last 15 years. Some of the major highlights were Broadcom purchasing CA Technologies for a sum of $18.9 billion, SAP picking up Qualtrics for $8 billion and IBM acquiring Red Hat for $33 billion.
In the year 2019, there was a drop in the global tech M&A activities, and it took a significant hit, where the total deal value stood at $460 billion.
So, what is 2020 having in store for us? Let us take a closer look.
HPE acquires Silver Peak for a whopping $925 million
Hewlett Packard Enterprise picked up Silver Peak, the company known for its cutting-edge WAN technology for a big sum of $925 million. Silver Peak’s SD-WAN (software-defined WAN) would complement the SD branch of HPE, and it is expected to become the core of the Aruba brand of HPE.
Uber to pick up Postmates for $2.65 billion
Uber has finally confirmed that it would acquire Postmates in all its stocks for a notable $2.65 billion. Postmates are into the food delivery business, and this acquisition is going to boost Uber Eats, the food delivery section of Uber. Uber plans to enhance the experience for customers, the partners and merchants, and the food delivery people across the US.
Google acquires North
Alphabet’s Google has acquired the AR (Augmented Reality) Smart Glass company North for an undisclosed amount. Speculations say that the deal was worth $180 million. North is a pioneer in manufacturing AR-powered smart glasses. If everything stays positive, Google’s acquisition of North would bring a Smart glass in the near future that can control all devices, interpret neural signals, and give the best immersive experience to the users.
Facebook buys Giphy for $400 million
Facebook, the social media giant, has now acquired the popular GIF library Giphy. This product would soon be rolled out for Instagram users. Facebook claims that GIFs help people to make conversations and communication interesting and that more than 50% of Giphy’s traffic is redirected from either Facebook or Instagram. Thus, this acquisition would help people across the world find the perfect way to express themselves.
Microsoft will take over Metaswitch Networks
Microsoft has announced a definite step towards the acquisition of Metaswitch Network, a UK based firm dealing with network equipment and software communications. This clearly shows the big tech giant’s interest in capturing the market for the 5G network. This acquisition would help Microsoft strengthen its telecommunication offerings. The high-performance cloud-native communication solutions from Metaswitch is going to empower operators and network partners across the world.
Conclusion
It is evident that the big tech giants are acquiring smaller firms to strengthen their position and offer a better product or solution. In the process, these tech giants are getting access to billions and billions of user data. Is that good, or is there a concern with privacy? The answer is unknown at this point, but we can stay positive and expect technology to empower us.