Microsoft has grown to become one of the most well-known technology companies. However, it didn't get there on its own. The company was founded by Bill Gates in 1975 and acquired its first company in 1987. Since then, it hasn't slowed down, with 269 acquisitions under its belt to date. Companies Owned by Microsoft have helped it expand beyond its roots as a hardware and software business and become an essential player in the gaming, cloud communications, and augmented reality market. Read on to learn about the top Microsoft's most expensive and influential acquisitions as well as what they mean for the corporate umbrella.
LinkedIn is a professional-oriented social networking site that focuses on aiding people to build a professional network for their organization; it launched in 2002. In just five years, it was profitable. When it went public between 2007 and 2011, its membership increased by 15 million members to nearly 100 million. Microsoft acquired LinkedIn in 2016 and announced over 500 million users in more than 200 countries in the following year.
Microsoft has taken a more hands-off approach to the purchase and has allowed LinkedIn to maintain its core identity and brand and its former CEO, Jeff Weiner. LinkedIn is primarily an effective social network platform as well as a recruitment tool for Microsoft, which earns cash by selling premium memberships. But, the commercial activities of LinkedIn also generate cloud-based revenues for Microsoft.
Skype
Skype Technologies was made in 2003 by Niklas Zennstrom from Sweden and Janus Friis from Denmark. It is now located in Luxembourg. Skype was the pioneer in the area of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) which is an innovation in interchange which allows users to transmit via sound an Internet association instead of an association that is simple. The number of customers enrolled in the organization grew between 50 and 600 million between 2005 and 2010.
Activision Blizzard
Activision Blizzard is Microsoft's most recent acquisition and the most expensive. The tech giant began 2022 with the payment of $68.7 billion to acquire the video game business in a deal set to close by the end of 2023. When it was an integral part of Microsoft, the company will be into Microsoft Gaming Director Phil Spencer's remit and further benefit its growing gaming business. The intellectual property and talent pool will play a key role in expanding the company's cloud-based video game streaming service.
GitHub
GitHub was established around 2007 after Chris Wanstrath developed the first "commit," a term that refers to keeping a file's hierarchy and contents in the form of a digital repository. GitHub has since grown into an open-source coding platform and development tool used by large corporations and software developers.
When Microsoft bought it in the year 2018, GitHub was home to more than the 30 million mark of developers and hosted around 100 million repositories. The acquisition highlights Microsoft's commitment to open-source development. It also the goal is to boost developer usage of the platform as well as provide more tools and services for new users.
Xandr
Microsoft completed its 2021 acquisition by purchasing Xandr in 2021 from AT&''T through a transaction worth approximately $1 billion. AT&''T created Xandr in 2018 after combining different advertising technology assets. The company is named after company the founder, Alexander Graham Bell. The acquisition provided AT&''T with the cash it needed and gave Microsoft the latest company in advertising technology that could help improve Microsoft's retail and digital media capabilities. This Xandr agreement is under regulatory review and is expected to close between 2022 and 2023.
aQuantive
In 1997, aQuantive was founded. It was a group of brands that provided digital marketing services, such as tools for advertising, consulting services, media buying and planning, and many other services. Microsoft bought the business in 2007 as an attempt to rival Google in online advertising.
Like the Nokia deal previously mentioned, it was a financial disaster. The year 2012 was the last time Microsoft reduced the worth of the ad company to the amount of $6.2 billion, which indicated that it was paying more than it deserved for the company aQuantive. Microsoft continues to run an advertising business, but it focuses on search marketing instead of aQuantive's specialization in display advertising.
Conclusion
Microsoft's acquisitions have allowed it to expand beyond its roots as a hardware and software manufacturer and become an essential player in the gaming, cloud communication, and augmented reality market.
