Mergers

Latest News

Vodafone keeps stake in Verizon
Not selling 45% stake in US operator 8 August 2007 8:31 GMT
Vodafone has moved to quell rumours that it is exiting the US mobile phone market by announcing that it will not take advantage of its options to sell its 45% stake in US mobile phone operator Verizon Communications.

The company has said that it has "decided...
Lenovo to buy Packard Bell
Holding exclusive talks in attempt to grow PC business 8 August 2007 8:16 GMT
Following reports last month that Acer was to buy flagging computer maker Packard Bell, Lenovo has now stepped into the frame in what could end up a bidding war.

The world's third-largest maker of personal computers the Chinese company is in talks to buy European...
Amazon invests in social music site AmieStreet.com
Develops own payment system 6 August 2007 17:53 GMT
Amazon.com is continuing it shopping spree with the announcement that it has invested in AmieStreet, a social networking site that sells music tracks at prices dictated by their popularity, rather than a flat fee like Apple's iTunes store.

The site, which was...
Cisco to dump Linksys branding - UPDATE: Not
All Cisco properties to come under one name 27 July 2007 9:14 GMT
Cisco is to kill off the Linksys name according to the company's CEO John Chambers.

Talking to European press, Chambers confirmed the "end of life" of the Linksys name, currently a subbrand, which has until now been used for its consumer routers and networking...
Digg goes with Microsoft not Google for advertising
Three year contract signed and agreed 26 July 2007 1:18 GMT
Microsoft has beaten Google to the punch and signed an agreement to the be exclusive advertising partner for social media site Digg.com.

The news will come as a massive boost to the Microsoft service.

The 3-year agreement between Microsoft and...
TomTom moves in to buy Tele Atlas
Hardware maker wants to own maps as well 24 July 2007 8:34 GMT
TomTom, the current number one player in the satnav arena is hoping to earn money from some of its competitors by buying the mapping software company they use.

The hardware company has announced that it has put in a bid of £1.2 billion ($2.5bn) for Tele Atlas...
HDMI Group undertakes management buy-out of Miglia
Will broaden the portfolio beyond the Mac platform 14 June 2007 17:05 GMT
HDMI Group today announced that, together with the Venture Capital fund SEGF, it has undertaken a management buy-out of Miglia, the Macintosh-based computer peripherals brand including Miglia's award-winning TV on your Mac range.

Following the acquisition,...
Bono and former Apple staff buy into Palm
Expect a red and black version with US2 dates shortly 4 June 2007 17:46 GMT
The private equity firm that lists Bono as one of its partners is buy a 25% stake in Palm the Wall Street Journal is reporting.

Elevation Partners will invest $325 million for that stake, and bring on board a number of former Apple staff including Apple's former...
Game buys GameStation
£74 and change 4 June 2007 17:21 GMT
Game, the UK video game retailer has bought its nearest high street competitor Gamestation for £74 million.

All of Gamestation's 217 stores have been sold to the retailer, however Game has said that both chains will keep their own branding rather than merge...
Google buys Feedburner
Rumoured to have paid $100 million 1 June 2007 21:56 GMT
Google has confirmed that it has bought RSS feed tools and tracker company Feedburner for an undisclosed fee.

Rumoured by some blogs to have been sold for $100, Google has cited the reason for the acquisition as a way of getting "AdWords advertisers broader...
News Corp buys Photobucket and Flektor
$300 million and an undisclosed sum 31 May 2007 18:40 GMT
As reported at the beginning of the month, News Corp has confirmed that it has bought photo sharing website Photobucket for $300 million dollars.

In a separate deal, News Corp. said it is also acquiring real-time video and audio editing site Flektor Inc.
CBS buys Last.fm
$280 million follow up to Wallstrip last week 31 May 2007 1:11 GMT
CBS has paid over $280 million for popular UK-based social networking site Last.fm it's emerged.

Last.fm, which currently has more than 15 million active users in more than 200 countries follows on from the acquisition of Wallstrip.com last week.
Google buys photo sharing site Panoramio
Will continue to use in Google Earth 31 May 2007 1:02 GMT
Google has continued its spending spree this week with the announcement that it has bought picture website Panoramio, a website that links millions of photos with the exact geographical location where they were taken.

The search engine, who is quickly buying...
Yahoo rumoured to be buying Bebo
$1bn the magic number 21 May 2007 13:48 GMT
Yahoo maybe about to buy UK social networking site Bebo for $1bn the Sunday Telegraph is reporting.

The rumoured bid comes amid a flurry of internet-related deals, which has seen lots of sales of internet start-ups this year already including dpreview.com to...
Amazon buys dpreview.com
Photography website to allegedly keep independence 14 May 2007 21:58 GMT
Photography website DPreview.com has been bought by Amazon.com for an undisclosed sum.

Started as hobby site in 1998, dpreview.com has grown to be the number one destination for anyone interested in digital cameras and digital photography.

Boasting...
Microsoft and SanDisk join forces
Creation of next-gen flash devices the goal 11 May 2007 16:47 GMT
Microsoft and SanDisk have announced they have signed an agreement to deliver a next-generation software and hardware solution to for USB flash drives and flash memory cards, expanding on and replacing SanDisk’s existing U3 Smart Technology.

The new offering...
Jobs under fire at Apple's annual meeting
Share scandal leads but Leopard and iPhone get a mention 11 May 2007 14:34 GMT
Apple's CEO Steve Jobs faced some tough questions at last night's Apple annual meeting. He came under fire in regards to the earlier scandal regarding Apple stock options that led to the American SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) charging two former Apple executives...
MySpace to buy Photobucket
Sold for $250 million 8 May 2007 3:40 GMT
It claimed it was the biggest Photosite in the world, but chances are until a couple of weeks ago you had never heard of it. Now it seems, MySpace has snapped it up for $250 million in cash according to report on the Internet.

Photobucket says it has 41 million...
Yahoo Photos closes, Microsoft to buy Yahoo
Yahoo encourages users to switch to Flickr, Microsoft up for buying Yahoo 4 May 2007 15:36 GMT
Thousands of photo sharing users will have to move their photos from Yahoo's Photo service because the company has said that it is closing its doors.

"The strains of running two photo sharing sites has always seemed impractical", one industry insider told us....
Google signs radio deal in US
Multi-year agreement sees ads on radio 16 April 2007 16:27 GMT
Google has announced that it has signed a multi-year agreement that enables the search engine to sell a guaranteed portion of 30-second advertising inventory available on more than 675 of Clear Channel's AM/FM stations.

Under the agreement, Google Audio Ads...
Philips plans to buy DLO
Could mean more accessories for Philips gear 16 April 2007 14:52 GMT
Philips sees the future in iPod accessories it seems with the announcement that it is buying iPod accessory manufacturer DLO.

Although no financial details where disclosed on the transaction, analyst Eric de Graaf a Petercam told Reuters that he expected "Philips...
Google buys DoubleClick
3.1 billion dollars in cash 16 April 2007 11:01 GMT
Google has expanding its advertising reach even further with the acquisition of ad firm DoubleClick.

The search engine has announced that it is paying $3.1 billion in cash for the company and in the process gains software for creating and measuring internet...
Techorati rumoured to be up for sale
Boasting uncharacteristically about figures 4 April 2007 14:40 GMT
Rumours are starting to surface that blog tracking website Technorati is up for sale.

According to commentators online, the rumours have started because the normally secretive site has just posted recent traffic figures showing a massive growth in visitor numbers.
Borders ditch Amazon.com partnership
Consolidating after heavy loses 26 March 2007 11:39 GMT
Borders, the US book store, has said that it plans to launch its own online store finishing its current relationship with Amazon.com

The move comes as the bookstore has announced loses of £77 million last year and the sale of its book stores in the UK and the...
Virgin Media tipped to buy Pipex
But BT, Sky and Carphone Warehouse could still be in the running 23 March 2007 17:10 GMT
Virgin Media has been tipped to be the likely buyer for broadband provider Pipex in the UK according to reports online.

Pipex has been put up for sale since the beginning of the month after hiring investment bank UBS to carry out a sale of the company.