Buyout

Apple believed to have acquired mapping firm BroadMap, note-taking app Catch

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

During Apple's latest earnings call, Tim Cook noted that the company made 15 'strategic acquisitions' during its fiscal 2013. But out of those 15 purchases, we've only heard about 9 or 10 of them, begging the question: who else did Apple buy this year?

Mark Gurman over at 9to5Mac has a pretty good theory about at least two of them. Citing sources inside Apple, as well as evidence from LinkedIn and other sites, Gurman is reporting that Apple also acquired mapping firm BroadMap and Catch this year...

WSJ: Sprint looking to acquire T-Mobile USA

Cody Lee ∙ Updated December 23, 2017

The Wall Street Journal is reporting this afternoon that Sprint is working on a potential T-Mobile USA purchase. The carrier is said to be looking into regulatory concerns right now, and a bid in upwards of $20 billion could come in early 2014.

A merger of these two wireless providers would be significant for a few reasons. For one, it would leave just 3 major competing carriers in the US. And two, Sprint and T-Mobile have a combined subscriber base close to that of AT&T and Verizon...

Verizon wins approval for $130 billion purchase of Vodafone’s stake in VZW

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Back in September, Verizon announced that it had reached an agreement with Vodafone to purchase its 45% stake in Verizon Wireless. The carrier, which was founded in April of 2000, has thus far been a joint venture between the two companies.

With a purchase price believed to be approaching $130 billion, the deal will go down as one of the largest acquisitions in history. And it looks like it will be happening sooner, rather than later, as the FCC has just given the transaction its approval..

Apple reportedly closes PrimeSense deal for as much as $350 million [updated]

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

A week ago, a report surfaced from Israeli news outlet Calcalist claiming that Apple had reached an acquisition deal with the 3D sensor tech company PrimeSense. The purchase wasn't final, but the outlet seemed pretty confident it was close.

Today, Globes adds it weight to the story with its own report. Thepublication—who has a solid track record of providing accurate intel regarding high-level buyout talks—says the deal was completed Friday and will be announced next week...

Apple reportedly purchases PrimeSense, the 3D sensor tech company behind the original Microsoft Kinect technology

Cody Lee ∙ November 17, 2013

Apple has reportedly purchased PrimeSense, an Israeli-based 3D sensor technology company, for $345 million. Rumors of the acquisition surfaced earlier this year, but Israeli news outlet Calcalist says the deal is now done, and Apple plans to announce it within the next few weeks.

PrimeSense is best known to most folks for its work with Microsoft, who used its technology, chips, and designs inside the first Kinect sensor for the Xbox 360. But the company sells its own 3D sensors and software for use in other markets such as as TV, mobile, retail, and robotics...

WSJ: Snapchat turned down $3 billion buyout offer from Facebook

Cody Lee ∙ Updated December 23, 2017

It was the summer of 2006. Facebook was just two years old, and strictly a college site, with some 8 or 9 million users. And the company's founder, Mark Zuckerberg, met with board members Jim Breyer and Peter Thiel to discuss Yahoo's $1 billion buyout offer.

As we all know, Zuckerberg ended up turning down the money, in what has become one of the most infamous moves in the last 10 years of tech. But the wunderkind recently found himself on the other side of the negotiating table, with even more money at stake...

BlackBerry fires CEO Thorsten Heins, scraps buyout plan

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 18, 2016

As a long-time competitor of, and what many believe to be a casualty of, the iPhone, we've been keeping a close eye on BlackBerry's situation over the past several months. The last we heard, the company had agreed to sell itself to Fairfax Financial Holdings for $4.7 billion.

But apparently that's no longer the plan. In a bit of a surprise move, BlackBerry announced this morning that it has given up on its effort to sell itself to a large investor, and that it will be replacing Thorsten Heins with former Sybase chief John Chen as interim CEO...

Tim Cook: Apple made 15 strategic acquisitions in fiscal 2013

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

In what turned out to be a rather interesting earnings call earlier today, Tim Cook talked about a wide range of topics including 'new product categories' and Apple's thinking behind the iPhone 5c. And he also touched on acquisitions.

In what seemed like a passing comment, Cook noted on today's call that Apple has completed a total of 15 strategic acquisitions during the course of fiscal 2013. That equates to roughly one every 3-4 weeks, a new high for the company...

Facebook acquires mobile app-maker Onavo for $120 million

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Facebook announced today that it has acquired Onavo, an Israel-based startup. Initial reports claimed the sale price was in upwards of $200 million, but a more recent scoop from The New York Times claims it was closer to $120 million.

There are two parts to Onavo's business: one of consumer-facing apps that help optimize iOS and Android device performance, as well as minimize their data usage while surfing the web, and one of app analytics for mobile publishers...

Apple acquires personal assistant app Cue

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Apple has apparently acquired another personal assistant company. It's called Cue, and it's the startup firm behind the personal assistant app for iPhone, of the same name, which shut down earlier this week.

The company, formerly known as Greplin, was a Y Combinator alumnus, announced to its users on Tuesday that the service would be shutting down, and that premium users would receive a prorated refund...

Nokia was working on an Android phone before Microsoft buyout deal

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 15, 2018

In February of 2011, Microsoft and Nokia announced a joint strategic partnership that would see Windows Phone become the principal platform strategy for Nokia's mobile devices. And the Finnish giant took quite a bit of heat for putting all of its eggs in Microsoft's basket.

But according to a new report, the company had a plan b: an Android device. Sources familiar with the project say that a team within Nokia had Android up and running on its Lumia handsets "well before" it began buyout negotiations with Microsoft for its mobile phone business...

Microsoft to acquire Nokia’s devices and services business for $7.2 billion

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 14, 2018

Early Tuesday morning, Microsoft announced that it would be purchasing Nokia’s devices and services business. The transaction has been approved by the Boards of Directors for both companies, and is expected to close in Q1 of next year, pending regulatory approval.

As for the terms of the deal, Microsoft is paying EUR 3.79 billion to purchase substantially all of Nokia’s cell phone business, and EUR 1.65 billion to license the company's patents, for a total price of EUR 5.44 billion (or roughly $7.2 billion in US dollars) in cash...