Acquisitions

T-Mobile and Orange 50:50 joint venture finalised

The deal that will see Orange and T-Mobile merged in the UK to form the biggest mobile phone operator has been finalised.

Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom have now signed the final agreement to combine their respective UK operations into a 50:50 joint venture...

Wistron named as Polymer Vision purchaser

The mysterious, unnamed Asian company that saved Polymer Vision from closing completely after in went bankrupt earlier this year has been named as Taiwanese ODM Wistron.

Polymer Vision was closed down by its Dutch parent company for financial reasons, back in...

Nokia buys "social atlas" Dopplr

Nokia has announced that it has acquired Dopplr, a privately-held mobile service provider for international travelers.

Dopplr - described as a "social atlas" - has a team of just seven people with offices in London and Helsinki. Dopplr is "thrilled" at the...

Dell buys IT service provider Perot Systems

Dell has announced it is to buy IT service provider Perot Systems.

Texas-based Perot Systems provides IT support to business customers such as hospitals, governments and banks.

Dell said the takeover will mean it will be able to provide a wider...

Google announces it has bought reCAPTCHA

Google has announced in a blog post that it has bought reCAPTCHA, the service that prevents bots from various nefarious online activities by making internet users interpret squiggly words, something computers don't do too well. The price Google paid has not been revealed....

Nokia acquires social media and sharing company Plum

Nokia has announced it has acquired a US company called Plum Ventures, Inc, a privately held firm with 10 employees based in Boston, Massachusetts.

Plum develops and operates a "cloud-based social media sharing and messaging service for private groups". On...

Readius saved as Polymer Vision bought out

Although it's more of a report than an official release at this stage, it seems the Readius e-paper mobile phone's future is now assured.

Polymer Vision, the company behind the phone's futuristic design, was been closed down by its Dutch parent company for financial...

RIM acquires Torch Mobile Webkit-based browser experts

Canadian smartphone maker RIM has acquired Torch Mobile, news that will almost certainly see the BlackBerry range of smartphones getting a much improved internet browser.

In a statement on its site Torch Mobile says it "is excited to announce that our company...

Friends Reunited sold for £25 million

ITV has finally off-loaded struggling website Friends Reunited.

The broadcaster sold the site for a pittance compared to what it paid for it in its hey-day back in 2005.

Michael Grade, ITV's executive chairman, described the sale as the "best...

Google announces acquisition of On2

Google has announced it is to acquire On2, a company described as a leading developer of video compression technology. The transaction - which will be stock-for-stock - is valued at around $106.5 million.

"Today video is an essential part of the web experience,...

VIDEO: Microsoft and Yahoo announce search deal

Microsoft and Yahoo have finally announced an agreement that will see the two giants team up against Google on web and search.

"In simple terms" the companies say Microsoft will now power Yahoo search via Bing, while Yahoo will become the exclusive worldwide...

Nokia to strengthen social networking with cellity acquisition

Despite of thousands of staff layoffs, Nokia has announced it is to acquire a German software company, take on 14 employees to its "services" division, and close the current business down.

An agreement will see Nokia buying Hamburg-based "cellity" for an undisclosed...

Amazon acquires Zappos.com

In what's being reported as a "if you can't beat 'em, buy 'em" move, Amazon has announced an agreement to acquire Zappos.com, an online footwear and clothing retailer in the States.

Zappos, based out of headquarters in Las Vegas, apparently enjoys a good reputation...

Microsoft-Yahoo deal on again

With more on-agains and off-agains that a soap opera romance, after 18-months of negotiations, a Microsoft and Yahoo deal is now said to be "imminent".

Reports suggest that talks are again under way between the two companies, so Microsoft may finally buy-out...

Amazon and Netflix in rumoured acquisition

It's rumoured that Amazon may acquire Netflix, the American mail-order and downloadable movie service that competes with Amazon in the online movie space.

Netflix stock is up almost 7% to an 11-week high on the back of the speculation, Bloomberg reports.

Prime View acquires E Ink Corporation

Prime View International, apparently the world's highest volume supplier of ePaper display modules, has announced it has signed an agreement to acquire E Ink Corporation, the electronic paper display company for approximately $215 million.

The deal is described...

Facebook flogs stake to Russians

Following on from the news we brought you that an offer was on the proverbial table, Facebook has accepted a Russian company's $200 million investment deal.

The social networking site has sold a 1.96% stake for what works out as around £126 million to a Russian...

Apple in "serious negotiations" to buy Twitter

Apple is in talks for a $700 million takeover of Twitter, it's being reported.

With Google and Microsoft said to be eying the micro-blogging service, and Twitter turning down a $500 million offer from Facebook last year, it's a lot of money and attention for...

Disney buys stake in Hulu

Hulu has announced that Disney is to invest in the American online video company. Disney will join NBC Universal and News Corps as a joint venture partner and equity owner of Hulu.

The agreement - rumoured to be between a 25% and 30% stake - will mean Hulu's...

Polaroid bought for $87 million

Iconic camera company Polaroid has been acquired in the States by a joint venture from Gordon Brothers Brands and Hilco Consumer Capital in an $87 million deal.

Following the news late last year that Polaroid was filing for bankruptcy protection, the news has...

StumbleUpon buys itself back from eBay

StumbleUpon has bought itself back from eBay after 2 years as a subsidiary of the online auction giant.

StumbleUpon, a web browsing recommendation site that provides peer generated search results based on a "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" rating given by users...

Google in talks to buy Twitter

Google is in talks to buy out Twitter, the micro-blogging service that is the social networking service du jour, reports suggest.

TechCrunch has it from three separate sources that the search giant is considering the purchase, pegged at over $250 million from...

Nokia invests in mobile payment company Obopay

It's been announced that Nokia is investing in mobile payments service provider Obopay.

The amount Nokia is ploughing into the company is pegged at around $70 million for a "minority stake" in the Silicon Valley-based company.

Obopay currently operates...

Cisco to acquire Flip-maker Pure Digital Technologies

Cisco has announced it is buying Pure Digital Technologies, the US company that's the creator of the Flip Video brand of small, cheap camcorders.

"The acquisition of Pure Digital is key to Cisco's strategy to expand our momentum in the media-enabled home and...

Zavvi.co.uk relaunches with 10% off promo

After going into administration last year, the Zavvi brand has been saved by The Hut Group and will relaunch online.

The Hut Group has officially announced the acquisition of Zavvi, and the resulting 100 jobs to be created over the next 12 months at the company's...