Google Spent Almost $2 Billion On 79 Acquisitions In 2011
Google Spent Almost $2 Billion On 79 Acquisitions In 2011
Posted 01/29/2012 at 1:42pm
| by Justin Kerr
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Google’s filed its 10-K with the SEC yesterday, and the numbers have revealed a staggering increase in the number of acquisitions the search giant made in 2011. Google closed the year by spending close to $2 billion on 79 separate acquisitions in 2011, a number that has grown significantly from the $1 billion it spent in 2010. This number of course doesn’t factor in the Motorola deal which is expected to clear in early 2012 to the tune of $12.5 billion, but includes dozens of other high profile startups.
Many of the companies on its list you’ve probably never heard of, though some firms such as Clever Sense, Kantango, and Apture were promising startups. Google will be no doubt be stepping up its acquisition pace in 2012 as it looks to expand its talent pool to help dominate the mobile space, and goes a long way towards their expanding headcount which grew 33 percent from 2010 to 2011. Google’s army now stands at over 32,000 employees around the world.
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RUSENSITIVESWEETNESS
January 30, 2012 at 5:19am
Data mining. Bend over. Goggle's going deep.
Now that they're in bed with the White House, they'll be allowed to do whatever they want, as long as they continue monitoring and reporting.
wintercoder
January 29, 2012 at 5:15pm
Wheres all the Microsoft (big corporation) haters?
Shouldn't they all be chanting for the dismantling of Google?
Oh yeah. They have their hands out... getting things for free.. so I guess that makes it ok, I guess.
Go Google Go!
(Read -> Sarcasm.)
Raswan
January 29, 2012 at 5:01pm
Welcome to the real world, where buying out the competition has existed for centuries. Why spend double the money trying to reverse engineer someone else's success when you can emphasize its significance to the world, offer a deeper capital base that allows it to grow even further, and bring it to a larger market for half the money? Grow up.
Holly Golightly
January 29, 2012 at 9:19pm
It's not honorable to buy off every competition. People (loyal consumers I mean) will begin to hate the corporate conglomerate. Look at how people view GameStop now-a-days. They bought out every single competition and nobody speaks good of GameStop... Eventually, they became too big for their own good. This is why we protect competition. To help give a balance while keeping prices lower. Heck, if you owned everything, why would there be purpose to innovate? You can just keep increasing prices and add stiffer penalties. I am sure people would love your business. Thank goodness we have the EU and Congress to stop these pointless mergers. Maybe it is time you submitted to the idea of socialism. A world for the people.
Raswan
January 29, 2012 at 10:53pm
There are a lot of things about socialism that could work well, but when people like you caricature it in places like this everyday and reduce it to Manichean terms, it only fuels other people who (rightly, in your case at least) call it a naive worldview that rests on a conception of the world that will never be. So instead of grunting monosyllabic analogies at us because you can't control yourself (and it seems you get a perverse pleasure out of being consistently ridiculed for being a socialist here, as if it's the un-hip, counter-culture stance now but that's OK because "everyone'll be sorry some day when I'm right" down the line), how about you conduct yourself more intelligently so we don't have to waste our time correcting you or telling you why you're wrong? The global economy does not lend itself easily to simple analyses, so you can't just equate Google with anti-competitiveness and expect to get away with it. Wasn't there an article on here less than a month ago about how Google is responsible for something like 66% of Mozilla's search-related income? Maybe it is time you submitted to the idea of rational analysis. A world for the thinkers.
Holly Golightly
January 30, 2012 at 1:51am
My views are more extreme than what the typical person can handle. I am as red as they come. I am a proud communist. This great nation is in dire need of great change. Greed has put this nation downhill long enough. I am glad we have a few more jobs. That T-Mobile regulation was a victory for the people. Can you imagine if AT&T bought out T-Mobile? So many jobs gone, more higher prices, and less satisfied customers. Companies should not be allowed to buy out each other. The people will eventually get what they say, and I will be the one waving my red flag in front of the face of conservatives. You know what the problem is... Republicans claim they see the real world... Their world is dead. What they are looking at is "the good old times" and are stopping progress from improving this nation. It is unpatriotic of you to stand in the way of great progress. Back to the subject, businesses should follow the strict morals and respect what the people want. Nobody wants to see mergers happen. It means less jobs, less revenue being generated to the nation and less technological improvement. Just imagine if AT&T was still the only phone company. You would not have simple things like caller ID. Yeah, with great competition comes great technology. Perhaps you should think a little more progressive for once.
twister753
January 29, 2012 at 9:54pm
@Holly
Let's see you get in their position and take the honourable route. You only preach honour because you don't have to deal with the consequences of said honour.
Holly Golightly
January 29, 2012 at 9:58pm
There are a few companies that do the honorable thing. Of course, with big money comes big corruption. The sports industries do all the time as well as Hollywood and Silicon Valley. I am still a firm believer in honor and respect. A good enough product will sell itself.
tekknyne
January 29, 2012 at 2:07pm
Welcome to the Google-States of America! Please lock the door behind you to ensure a safe journey in your very own personal information-bubble. I hope it's to your likeing- it should be since we know EVERYTHING about you. BTW, how's that new 8gb memory upgrade working out for you?
*smiles*
Holly Golightly
January 29, 2012 at 9:27pm
I know... That is why I do not trust Google. I use IXquick and Yandex. Sure, not even half as popular as Google, but at least they do not record your information forever. Google does it all for ad dollars. But with good old trusty AdBlocker, life is a little easier for the people and more difficult for those corrupt idiots. I am not for sale! I want a clean ad-free experience, and pay a lot of money for broadband access. We do not have to accept their rules, and can fight their system. In the end, the people win.
OCFRED
January 29, 2012 at 1:48pm
Had to do something with all that cash, why not encourage some more good ideas?.
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