mergertech

"WhatsApp is on a path to connect 1 billion people," said Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's CEO and founder, in a press release. "The services that reach that milestone are all incredibly valuable. I've known Jan [Koum, WhatsApp's CEO] for a long time and I'm excited to partner with him and his team to make the world more open and connected."

Printing company 3D Systems Corp. recently announced its purchase of Digital PlaySpace for undisclosed amount. This is the just the latest in a string or recent mergers for 3D Systems, which has purchased close to 50 businesses in the past three years.

Location determination and intelligences services company TruePosition recently purchased Skyhook Wireless for an undisclosed amount. Boston-based Skyhook is best known for providing location services to mobile device makers like Apple and Samsung. It has also been recognized as an industry leader in providing services for public safety and security organizations.

Oracle recently announced that it would acquire online data management startup BlueKai to build its cloud marketing software offerings. Although the terms of the purchase were not disclosed, the San Jose Mercury News reports that the software giant may have paid around $400 million for the company, most of it in cash.

Discount Coupons is an internet marketing and technology company that operates daily deal management division and a full-service digital marketing agency. Since 1997, the company has operated DiscountCoupons.com, a website that benefits both businesses and consumers. The company's current acquisition strategy is to purchase more established daily deal websites to expand its customer base.

Makers Studios creates, promotes and distributes videos aimed at adults in their 20s and early 30s and attracts over 5 billion views a month. This technology acquisition would give Disney a larger presence in the growing online video market.

Facebook announced that it purchased Onavo, which is a mobile app business that also helps people cut cellular phone costs through more efficient use of data. According to Reuters, the technology acquisition will help Facebook provide internet access to underserved communities. Mainly, this will be done by Onavo's technology reducing the amount of data downloads required to run mobile internet applications.

According to apress releaseon Market Wired, crowdfunding technology provider InvestedIn recently announced that it has acquired My New Financial Advisor (MNFA), which offers "scalable marketing resources to financial advisors and financial intermediaries worldwide."

Given that LiveQoS manages real-time networks, it will have plenty of uses for Openera's technology. Those who seek to use an application or watch a video over the networks will benefit from the increased speeds and lack of pixelation that can occur when watching particularly large video files

Back in September, this blog featured a post about the technology merger between the two. As we noted, this was Twitter's largest acquisition for $350 million. However, it was an investment that was meant to pay off. MoPub is an advertisement serving platform that is designed specifically for mobile devices.

GTS Central Europe is based in Warsaw, Poland and focuses on business telecommunications, providing service to major companies like Coca-Cola Co. and General Motors Co. According to early reports by Gigaom, the technology acquisition will help Deutsche Telekom offer fixed-line infrastructure in Poland and the Czech Republic, while also taking advantage of the company's data center capabilities.

Most people recognize GE, the longstanding company that plays a large role in the energy infrastructure, aviation and health care equipment industries. As a recent article in Bloomberg Business week pointed out, the company "is best at making big things."

SnapChat is an incredibly popular smartphone app with a simple concept. Users simply take pictures or videos and send them to their friends, only to have them disappear in short order. As of September, SnapChat claims to process about 350 million photo uploads per day.

The company focuses on raising funds from individual investors to bring interesting products to market. Currently, Gigaom reports that Quirky has raised $79 million, including $30 million from GE. The company's goal is to build 30 devices in its partnership with GE, including home automation devices.

"I think it's a really interesting space," Under Armour founder Kevin Plank told the news source. "I remember being at the NFL Combine a few years ago and watching these scouts with their handheld stopwatches and thinking, 'there has to be a better way to do this.' MapMyFitness and Armour39 provide real data for athletes, coaches, trainers or just someone who has a goal of walking 10,000 steps a day."

According to a recent report in the Wall Street Journal, BlackBerry executives recently flew out to California to meet with Facebook executives. Though the report was unclear about whether Facebook might actually put in a bid for BlackBerry (which has been seeking bids for the past several months) it certainly fueled speculation that Facebook is seriously interested in entering the smartphone business.

"Chemical and process industries have always been strategic focus areas for YASH and the acquisition of the well regarded industry specialist SpectraSoft, aligns well with YASH's vision to capture more market share in the process industry vertical," Manoj Baheti, Founder and CEO of YASH Technologies, said in a statement.

Hudson Square Research analyst Daniel Ernst told Reuters that the deal is potentially risky in the sense that franchises in the mobile market have been tenuous, like in the cases of Zynga and Glu. However, SoftBank likes to think long-term and has a very talented team.

The union itself is something to be celebrated, but so are the unique characteristics of each business. Company acquisitions happen because one company has something different, and can help another firm leap ahead of the competition. Each aspect is special and plays an important part in the acquisition finding long-term success.

Deloitte has continued its flurry of recent moves with two technology acquisitions - NXG, a provider of SAP solutions, and Quattro, a customer relations management software company. Both businesses are based in Australia. The acquisitions are expected to be finalized by November 1. Deloitte did not announce the financial terms of either agreement.