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Uber, the popular ride-sharing app firm, has purchased digital-navigation technology from Microsoft and acquired 100 employees from the company. In a marketplace dominated by strong navigational abilities, Uber has made other deals over the last year to boost its in-house capabilities.

On this blog, we've discussed high-profile mergers and acquisitions in the ed tech space, a burgeoning and quickly changing field of research, development and product sales. As education organizations like schools, tutoring operations and colleges become more dependent on technology for teaching and learning, a host of products and platforms have filled the market to meet their needs.

It's a scene that could go comically awry in a movie. Just as showtime nears, your small shop proves it's not ready for primetime. Employees roll into the office late and disheveled, none of the presentation technology works and your well-rehearsed elevator pitch escapes you at the last minute. Mergers and acquisitions are full of moments that seem like defining turning points in the negotiation process, when you can either win over or put off your potential buyer. 

There are times when mergers or acquisitions are used as a tool of retirement. When a longtime CEO is finished professionally and has no one to turn his or her business over to, sometimes a merger or acquisition can set his or her brainchild up for success while presenting a nest egg for retirement. A study called "CEO Preferences and Acquisitions" by Dirk Jenter and Katharina Lewellen of the National Bureau of Economic Research described this phenomenon in the traditional way these deals are viewed.

"Bidders thus are more likely to target firms with retirement-age CEOs, possibly because of these CEOs' reduced resistance to takeovers," summarizes Matt Nesvisky of the study's findings. "The increase in takeover activity appears precisely at the age-65 threshold, with no gradual increase as CEOs approach retirement age, ruling out many alternative explanations."

The first is that technology acquisitions are highly important decisions that have the ability to redefine a company's future. As such, businesses need to take their time and really scrutinize a deal before moving forward.

Red Arrow is a software architect that develops programs for business needs. Clinical Path Consulting works with healthcare providers that need help using their technology in more efficient ways while also meeting regulatory requirements. ChemWare is a laboratory information management system that helps labs improve the effectiveness of their automated environments.

Online video game maker GSN Games recently announced that it has acquired Bash Gaming, maker of the popular online casino game Bingo Bash. While neither company disclosed the details of the business acquisition, the website VentureBeat reported an estimate of $160 to $170 million.

The rise of esports has given careers to countless professional video gamers, and created a market for innovative platforms for spectators and participants to engage with the technology. This week, Twitch, a game-streaming service, announced plans to purchase GoodGame. The acquisition will broaden Twitch's footprint in the esports market, which is already considerable: TechCrunch reports that daily, more users watch League of Legends than major network news broadcasts.

As ecommerce demand and consumership rises around the globe, mergers and acquisitions are diversifying capabilities for online retailers, with innovative new ways to help customers select items to purchase. Earlier this week, we reported about the merger of Fits.us and Clothes Horse, two online fitting room solutions that will combine technology to strengthen service offerings. Another merger in the online retail industry that could make waves is Snapdeal's acquisition of Wishpicker.

The best business decisions are not always clear especially in the realm of technology mergers and acquisitions. Recently, we started to discuss some of the primary factors to consider when thinking of selling your company. In that post, we talked a bit about the necessity of making preparations for the quick and profitable sale of your business.

Near the end of a robust year in tech mergers, Cypress Semiconductor has announced plans to merge with Spansion, a flash memory microcontroller firm. The semiconductor company already manufactures technology for Bluetooth and touchscreen capable devices, and acquired Spansion for a reported $4 billion, according to GuruFocus.

As companies strive to stay competitive in the marketplace, some may turn to a merger or acquisition deal to obtain technologies that will allow them to strengthen their business. It was announced recently that Apple may be purchasing an app called Swell, according to an article in Tech Crunch.

As technological services continue to provide greater levels of personalization, companies working in these industries may have to make moves to stay competitive. Streaming radio services that offer the ability to provide users with content that is more specifically geared toward an individual user's tastes and preferences is desirable for some companies in this area.

Facebook continues to look for ways to expand into new IT areas. Last week, the social network completed the acquisitions of two California startups whose technologies could help Facebook compete with other IT giants.

"What won't change however is the number of new buyers coming to the table," writes Jacob Mullins in Business Insider. "These buyers aren't your typical Silicon Valley tech acquirers, they are more traditional household companies and brands looking to embrace technology to better reach end users and create greater efficiencies within their own businesses. And their appetite for boutique acquisitions of tech companies is just gearing up."

One of the Super Bowl's most popularads, a spot by Budweiser, featured a lost dog who wandered throughthe snow in search of his owner. With the rise of wearable pet technology, finding lost pets is becoming easier, and the tech sphere has made room for several key players in development.

One of the Super Bowl's most popularads, a spot by Budweiser, featured a lost dog who wandered throughthe snow in search of his owner. With the rise of wearable pet technology, finding lost pets is becoming easier, and the tech sphere has made room for several key players in development.

The highest compliment a tech writer can give a mobile application is saying that it streamlines age-old tasks. One such area for app development is scheduling. Managing daily planners and literally "penciling in" important dates has largely been replaced by efficiency applications, both native and third-party to mobile devices. With the handiness of alerts and the ability to program functions on compatible applications, scheduling has never been so comprehensive.

Microsoft announced this week that it will acquire Sunrise, a scheduling app developer, for $30 million. iPhone owners are familiar with the Apple Calendar app, and Google users have come to rely on its web-based scheduling platform. To compete in a marketplace with established heavyweights, Microsoft's acquisition could enhance its productivity offerings.