mergers and acquisitions

Regulators want T-Mobile and Sprint to spin off new wireless carrier to ease competition concerns

by Nat Levy on May 29, 2019May 29, 2019 at 5:10 pm1 Comment

One of the chief concerns of the mega-merger between T-Mobile and Sprint is that it would reduce the number of major U.S. wireless carriers in the U.S. from four to… Read More

Former Wave Broadband execs scoop up Northwest operations of ex-rival Frontier for $1.35B

by Nat Levy on May 29, 2019May 29, 2019 at 3:45 pm 2 Comments

WaveDivision Capital, an investment company operated by the founder of Wave Broadband and several former executives, has teamed up with Searchlight Capital Partners to acquire the Northwest operations of internet… Read More

LinkedIn acquires Drawbridge to bolster its marketing and advertising offerings

by Nat Levy on May 28, 2019May 28, 2019 at 1:50 pm1 Comment

LinkedIn has acquired Drawbridge, a well-funded San Francisco-area startup that uses artificial intelligence to learn more about customers and target audiences. In a blog post, the Microsoft-owned company said it… Read More

Streem acquires U.K. computer vision startup Selerio to bring ‘smart AR’ to phone cameras

by Nat Levy on May 21, 2019May 21, 2019 at 9:04 amComment

Streem, a Portland-based company that aims to use augmented reality to help people and companies communicate better, has acquired a computer vision startup and brought in some new funding. Streem… Read More

Smartsheet scoops up Seattle resource management startup 10,000ft, its 3rd acquisition

by Nat Levy on May 2, 2019May 2, 2019 at 10:29 amComment

Work collaboration software company Smartsheet acquired 10,000ft, a Seattle startup that helps companies plan and manage how they use their resources. The deal will help Smartsheet customers improve planning and… Read More

Ahead of Zoom’s IPO, new report says Microsoft repeatedly tried to acquire video conferencing company

by Nat Levy on April 17, 2019April 17, 2019 at 4:37 pmComment

Video conferencing company Zoom is set to go public this week, but its future could have been a lot different, according to a new report. Recode reported that Microsoft has… Read More

Amazon acquires Canvas Technology to bolster warehouse robotics capabilities

by Nat Levy on April 10, 2019April 10, 2019 at 11:19 pmComment

Amazon has acquired Canvas Technology, a Boulder, Colo., robotics company that powers autonomous vehicles in industrial settings. Amazon for years now has pushed to automate parts of its warehouses, deploying… Read More

Home improvement marketplace Porch makes another acquisition as headcount hits 500

by Nat Levy on April 3, 2019April 3, 2019 at 12:48 pm 2 Comments

Porch is making another acquisition, its second after the home improvement startup came out of a self-imposed quiet period almost a year ago following a challenging time that included significant… Read More

F5 Networks paying $670M to acquire NGINX, a web server that runs a big chunk of the internet

by Nat Levy on March 11, 2019March 11, 2019 at 3:32 pm 2 Comments

F5 Networks says it is acquiring NGINX, one of the most popular web servers on the internet today, for $670 million. The deal is a huge one for F5, which… Read More

Pop culture toy maker Funko expands into board games with acquisition of Seattle studio

by Nat Levy on February 15, 2019February 28, 2019 at 2:25 pm1 Comment

Funko, the maker of the popular Pop! figurines and other pop culture items, has acquired Seattle board game studio Forrest-Pruzan Creative. The deal brings Funko into the board game world.… Read More

Will Amazon buy Etsy, Kohl’s, or the Seahawks? GeekWire predicts the tech giant’s next big deals

by Nat Levy on February 13, 2019February 13, 2019 at 11:21 amComment

Amazon’s M&A team has gotten off to a busy start in 2019. This week’s announcement that the tech giant plans to acquire mesh WiFi startup eero makes three buys so… Read More

Amazon acquiring mesh WiFi startup eero, doubling down on smart home

by Nat Levy on February 11, 2019February 12, 2019 at 10:48 am1 Comment

Amazon says it will acquire eero, the San Francisco-based maker of mesh home WiFi routers. The deal strengthens Amazon in the smart home arena, an area Amazon has been very… Read More

Microsoft acquires DataSense data analytics platform for schools from edtech company BrightBytes

by Nat Levy on February 4, 2019February 4, 2019 at 9:15 amComment

Microsoft is acquiring the DataSense data analytics platform from San Francisco-based education tech company BrightBytes, aiming to bring data analytics tools to schools around the country. DataSense is a platform… Read More

New filing: Amazon spent $1.65B on acquisitions in 2018, headlined by Ring and PillPack deals

by Nat Levy on February 4, 2019February 4, 2019 at 10:40 amComment

Amazon spent $1.65 billion on acquisitions in 2018, according to a new regulatory filing from the company. That makes it the second most acquisitive year in the company’s history by… Read More

Dropbox acquires HelloSign for $230M, putting it in e-signature competition with DocuSign and Adobe

by Nat Levy on January 28, 2019January 28, 2019 at 8:29 am1 Comment

Dropbox is jumping into the e-signature market with a major acquisition. Dropbox said Monday it is acquiring HelloSign, a document signing and workflow company for $230 million. Dropbox is mostly… Read More

Avalara expands to alcoholic beverage compliance with the acquisition of Compli

by Nat Levy on January 24, 2019January 24, 2019 at 9:06 amComment

Avalara has acquired the “operational assets” of Compli, a California-based company that helps makers of alcoholic beverages comply with government rules and regulations. Compli’s 45 employees will move over to… Read More

Microsoft acquires FSLogix to bolster virtual desktop capabilities in Office 365

by Nat Levy on November 19, 2018November 19, 2018 at 10:28 amComment

Microsoft has acquired FSLogix, an Atlanta-based company that cuts down on the effort of setting up virtual desktops for large organizations. In a blog post, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft 365… Read More

Microsoft acquires bot studio XOXCO to boost conversational AI offerings

by Nat Levy on November 14, 2018November 14, 2018 at 10:57 amComment

Microsoft has acquired XOXCO, an Austin-based company that builds bots and conversational artificial intelligence tools, the latest in a series of deals to boost the tech giant’s AI bonafides. XOXCO… Read More

T-Mobile gets shareholder sign off on pending merger with Sprint

by Nat Levy on October 31, 2018November 1, 2018 at 9:50 am 2 Comments

T-Mobile has cleared another hurdle in its pursuit of merging with Sprint to create the “New T-Mobile.” The self-proclaimed Un-carrier said it has gotten shareholder approval to combine with Sprint.… Read More

Video

Rover acquires U.K.-based dog care company DogBuddy, accelerating its European expansion

by Nat Levy on October 30, 2018October 31, 2018 at 1:30 pm1 Comment

Pet-sitting powerhouse Rover has made an acquisition that will help the Seattle company build on its European expansion, first disclosed earlier this year. Rover said it has acquired DogBuddy, a dog… Read More

Microsoft’s fiscal 2019 already ranks among its biggest years for acquisition spending

by Nat Levy on October 27, 2018October 27, 2018 at 11:55 amComment

Just four months into Microsoft’s fiscal year, the company has spent more on acquisitions than it has in many entire years in the past. According to a GeekWire analysis, Microsoft’s… Read More

Expedia acquires 2 startups that make it easier to list apartments on HomeAway

by Nat Levy on October 25, 2018October 25, 2018 at 4:13 pmComment

Expedia Group acquired a pair of companies that make it easier to list apartments on short-term rental sites like Airbnb or the travel giant’s subsidiary HomeAway. Expedia said Thursday it… Read More

European regulators sign off on Microsoft’s $7.5B acquisition of GitHub

by Nat Levy on October 19, 2018October 19, 2018 at 8:16 amComment

Microsoft’s deal to buy GitHub for $7.5 billion cleared a major regulatory hurdle Friday. The European Commission, the regulatory arm of the EU, approved the acquisition without conditions, finding that the… Read More

Microsoft-owned LinkedIn acquires Glint to bolster employee engagement tools

by Nat Levy on October 8, 2018October 8, 2018 at 9:12 amComment

LinkedIn has acquired Glint, a Redwood City, Calif. company that helps organizations get feedback from employees. LinkedIn did not disclose terms of the deal in a blog post announcing the… Read More

Online insurance marketplace QuoteWizard sells to LendingTree in massive $300M deal

by Nat Levy on October 4, 2018October 5, 2018 at 10:09 am1 Comment

Insurance comparison marketplace QuoteWizard has been acquired by LendingTree for $300 million, and the price tag could rise even more should the bootstrapped Seattle startup continue its recent record-setting growth. The deal… Read More