So far, the list is pretty massive- Google has purchased 80 companies. While that number may have some people thinking about all of the suspicion-filled opinion pieces about a Google take over of the world- you have to bear in mind that Microsoft has acquired around 128 companies.
Or do you?
Consider also that Microsoft’s acquisition list goes back to 1987, whereas Google’s only goes back to 2001. That is some fairly heavy growth, and it isn’t growth without the tinge of scandal. Google is no stranger to antitrust, or rather, being investigated for it.
You can find the full list of Google acquisitions on the Wiki page- and included in the graphic is what Google has done with said acquisitions. The list of references is pretty hefty, as well and it isn’t hard to see how busy the Google checkwriters have been- and likely will continue to be. Though lately, their eyes seem turned to local search, as well as social marketing. It is no surprise- Bing linking arms with Facebook is giving them a run for their money.
What hasn’t Google Bought?
In recent news- Groupon. Though the rumor mill had cranked into full gear- with Vader.tv going as far as to announce the deal had been done, it hadn’t.
Oh, how embarrassing for Faith Merino, who gave the piece the tagline of:
While neither company has confirmed the story, the acquisition follows a week of buyout rumors.
Instead of following the trend that week of speculation of the so-called already in the bag acquisition- we instead posted Gazing Into the Social Media Crystal Ball. It seems more important, going back to the list of Google’s confirmed acquisitions and what they’ve done with them, to pay attention to that. Instead of questioning if they did or did not- following the trend of what they do with the acquisitions they do obtain and what they might want to purchase a company for- that’s where you find the true pulse of the changes being made.
Also, understanding why companies like Groupon and Yelp would say no to an offer from Google is important. For Yelp, it was easy to see why they’d reject the deal, though opinions between the companies apparently conflicted.
The reason why Groupon walked away from what looked like a sweet deal for a cool $5.3 billion with a $700 million earnout?
Groupon is already pulling in $2 billion a year and showing no sign of stopping anytime soon. To see why they weren’t all that keen to join the stable of 42 companies Google has actually acquired this year isn’t hard to figure out- it’s a matter of simple math.
Going back to our prediction- follow the money trail. Google offered Groupon, a very new start up- one that is making more money than what they paid for Youtube a rather hefty sum in a move that many questioned. (That would be $1.6 billion in 2006)
Groupon marks the second try and fail to acquire something which would further enable Google to corner local search.
Who would know search trends better than the Search Giant, itself?
