For many New York entrepreneurs and small business owners, the idea of success involves expanding their services and clientele base. In fact, consistent business expansion was once the ideal that companies large and small strove to achieve. Now, however, ideas about what it means to achieve business success are changing, and perhaps nowhere faster than in the technology industry. Several major business transactions are affecting the way that small businesses and large corporations alike function and evolve.
Billion-dollar Mergers and acquisitions are becoming standard practice in the technology industry, as large corporations are buying up smaller companies in increasing numbers. Not only are major players like Apple and Google appropriating smaller businesses, but they are investing in a diverse variety of companies to suit all of their needs. For instance, corporations are acquiring everything from software companies to music companies to application companies.
Reflecting upon the budding merger and acquisition trend in the tech industry, some experts are noting that it is very similar to changes that have occurred within the pharmaceutical industry. Instead of expanding from within and innovating on their own, large tech companies are relying upon the specialization and creativity of smaller companies. As a result, many startup companies are marketing themselves to ultimately be brought out.
The latest such move occurred when Intel recently purchased Altera, a chip development company, for almost $17 billion in cash. Several similar transactions have occurred in recent months, leading many to suspect that the trend will continue for some time.
Source: USA Today, “Altera purchase could signal start of acquisition wave,” Elizabeth Weise, June 1, 2015