Acquisition

NYT music reporter claims Apple won’t be acquiring Tidal after all

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 1, 2016

The Wall Street Journal ran a story yesterday claiming that Apple was in “exploratory talks” to acquire music service Tidal, which rap mogul Jay-Z bought in March 2015 for a reported $56 million.

Ostensibly, Apple's interest in Tidal revolves around its strong ties to artists: since the Jay-Z deal, Tidal has given 19 famous artists small stakes in the firm.

The Journal article cautioned that the current discussions might not result in a deal and now Ben Sisario, a music reporter at The New York Times, cited “two highly placed sources” as saying that Apple won't be buying Tidal anytime soon.

Apple said to be in talks to acquire streaming music service Tidal

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 11, 2018

Apple is in talks to acquire the streaming music service Tidal, reports The Wall Street Journal. Citing people familiar with the matter, the outlet says the iPhone-maker is exploring the idea because of the service's strong ties to artists.

Rap mogul Jay-Z bought Tidal in March 2015 for $56 million, and has since given 19 famous artists small stakes in the company. The current talks with Apple may not result in a deal, and it's unknown what terms have been discussed.

Microsoft is buying LinkedIn for $26.2 billion

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 13, 2016

Windows giant Microsoft on Monday announced it's purchasing business-oriented social networking service LinkedIn for a cool $26.2 billion. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in a message to troops that he's been learning about LinkedIn for some time “while also reflecting on how networks can truly differentiate cloud services.” LinkedIn has a network of more than 433 million business professionals, meaning Microsoft would be paying an average of about $60 per user.

Future Fitbit devices to gain support for NFC-based contactless payment technology

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 19, 2016

Fitbit, which makes fitness accessories, activity trackers and other wearable devices, just acquired payments hardware firm Coin, signaling its intent to enrich its product lineup with contactless payment features. That's right, your next Fitbit fitness tracker may let you pay for in-store purchases.

iPhone manufacturer Foxconn buys Nokia feature phone business from Microsoft

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 18, 2016

iPhone manufacture and the world's largest contract fabricator, Foxconn, has made an interesting purchase, snagging the Nokia feature phone business from Microsoft for a paltry $350 million with a little help from private equity backed HMD Global.

Nokia's feature phones, which are powered by the Series 30+ operating system, once were its bread and butter—especially in pre-smartphone days.

Tim Cook talks Didi acquisition during China trip

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 16, 2016

Apple CEO Tim Cook visited an Apple Store in Beijing this morning with Liu Qing, president of Didi Chuxing, the company the iPhone maker invested an astounding $1 billion in.

Also called the Chinese Uber, Didi is a ride sharing service and Apple's investment comes at a time when the Cupertino firm is widely rumored to be secretly working on an electric car project. Cook said Apple and Didi both shared concerns for the environment.

He also revealed, according to China Daily, that app developers in China have now earned over $7 billion, half of which came in the past twelve months alone.

Nokia is buying French health tracking company Withings for a reported $192 million

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

Nokia said this morning that it's buying French health tracking company Withings for a reported €170 million, or about $192 million, as it looks to gain a foothold in the competitive digital health market.

Withings, which designs, builds and sells wearables with health and fitness tracking features, as well as devices for the connected home such as smart weighing scales, thermometers, blood pressure monitors, home and baby monitors and so forth, will become part of Nokia's Technologies business.

iPhone manufacturer Foxconn buys Apple supplier Sharp in a $3.5 billion deal

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 30, 2016

It's finally official: the world's leading contract fabricator, Foxconn, which assembles iPhones and other products for Apple and other consumer electronics companies, has purchased the struggling Japanese giant Sharp, one of Apple's display panel suppliers, in a deal valued at a reported $3.5 billion.

As reported today by The Wall Street Journal, Foxconn believes this transaction will improve its position on the technology value chain and has plans to expand Sharp's production capacity and invest in the production of OLED screens that future iPhones are expected to adopt.

Facebook acquires company behind popular face swapping app MSQRD

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 17, 2018

Facebook on Wednesday announced that it has acquired the popular face swapping app MSQRD, and the company behind it, Masquerade. The terms of the deal are unknown, but it's being reported that the founders will be joining Facebook.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the app, MSQRD allows you to apply various filters and effects to your photos and videos—not unlike Snapchat's 'lenses.' You can apply masks, hats and other accessories, or simply swap faces with others.

GoPro is buying powerful iPhone video-editing apps Replay and Splice

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 1, 2016

GoPro, an American manufacturer of action cameras that are popular in extreme-action videography, has acquired two mobile video editing apps, Replay and Splice.

In a media release yesterday, GoPro said that merging these apps into its mobile strategy will help them deliver powerful mobile editing solutions to GoPro customers “and billions of smartphone users,” indicating the apps will continue to be available in the App Store.

In fact, both apps will be coming to Android later this year, said GoPro.

WSJ: iPhone contract manufacturer Foxconn is delaying the signing of Sharp takeover agreement

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 26, 2016

As previously reported, Apple's favorite contract manufacturer Foxconn has made a $6.2 billion bid to acquire the ailing Japanese consumer electronics maker Sharp, which has been in the business for a cool 103 years now. Although Sharp’s board has made the decision to accept the offer last Thursday, it seems the acquisition is not a done deal after all.

As reported Friday by The Wall Street Journal, Foxconn is reportedly delaying the signing of the takeover agreement after it had been “surprised” by new information Sharp had disclosed just a day before.

Foxconn to acquire Sharp for $6.2 billion

Cody Lee ∙ February 24, 2016

Apple partner Foxconn is set to acquire Sharp for roughly 700 billion yen (or $6.2 billion USD), reports Nikkei Asian Review. The outlet says that Sharp's board voted on Thursday morning to accept the offer, and plans to restructure its operations under the Hon Hai umbrella.

The deal, which has not been officially announced yet, comes after years of failed negotiations between the two companies. Foxconn has made several attempts to acquire the struggling electronics giant, or large pieces of it, with the latest offer of $5.3 billion coming in January.