Acquisitions - SlashGear

Epic Games acquires Rocket League maker Psyonix, Steam future question

JC Torres | May 1, 2019

As a game developer and publisher itself, it's really not unusual for Epic Games to acquire smaller companies. It does become a bit curious, however, when it buys up a developer well-known for a hit title, like Psyonix, who made the unexpected wonder that is Rocket League. Things definitely take an even more interesting turn, however, when set in the frame of the buyer's bigger strategy, which includes making certain titles exclusively available on its own Epic Games Store.

Twitter acquires Highly quote-sharing service

Brittany A. Roston | Apr 17, 2019

Twitter has acquired Highly, a service that enables users to easily share quotes from articles on social media. In light of the acquisition, Highly plans to shut down its Slack and iOS apps later this month, though existing highlights from users will remain live. Highly was founded in 2014 and has proven fairly popular in the years it has operated.

NEEO and Control4 join forces on next-gen smart home tech

Brittany A. Roston | Feb 4, 2019

Switzerland-based smart home company NEEO has been acquired by Control4 as part of its plan to offer next-gen interactive smart home tech, the company has announced. Control4 plans to use NEEO's expertise for its latest touch panels, remote controls, keypads, and similar devices. The acquisition follows the launch of NEEO's smart home remote control four years ago.

AT&T’s price increases the result of billion-dollar merger debt

Adam Westlake | Feb 3, 2019

In the last several years, AT&T has made two huge acquisitions: DirecTV in 2015, and Time Warner in 2018. With these mergers — which were clearly anti-consumer — AT&T thought it turn itself from a telecom giant into a cable TV giant, with a near monopoly on the US's media industry. But instead of just buying itself an undeniable advantage, the company has given customers more reason to leave by attempting to cover its immense debt with price increases.

Samsung acquires Corephotonics as Apple court case continues

Chris Burns | Jan 28, 2019

Usable features in a smartphone component are important - and nowhere more universally important to consumers than in the device's camera. The camera hardware and software must work together to bring the magic - at all points, in all conditions. As such, Samsung's acquired the company called Corephotonics, a company that suggests it's able to create in-focus and sharp photos no matter the amount of zoom.

Pluto TV to get Viacom content under new acquisition deal

Brittany A. Roston | Jan 23, 2019

Viacom has just announced plans to acquire cable-cutters' best free, live television option: Pluto TV. The service has proven popular among users seeking television content without the price tag accompanying cable and other streaming TV services. At this point in time, the service boasts more than 12 million active users every month and more than 100 channels.

Adobe just bought in big on gaming

Chris Burns | Jan 23, 2019

This morning Adobe acquired Allegorithmic, the makers of the application family called Substance. With this buy, Adobe just became a big name in 3D textures and material creation in both video game and major motion picture video post-production. This is in essence the most major power move of the year (so far) with respect to gaming from the tools end of the industry.

Logitech tipped to acquire Plantronics with $2B deal

Adam Westlake | Nov 24, 2018

With the holiday season now in full-swing, it looks like Logitech has been doing a little shopping of its own. In what's likely a bid to diversify its products, Logitech, widely known for making computer accessories like keyboards and mice, is reportedly close to finalizing a deal to acquire Plantronics, a manufacturer of Bluetooth earpieces and headsets.

IBM to buy Linux maker Red Hat to stay relevant in the cloud

JC Torres | Oct 28, 2018

IBM is the granddaddy in computing. Some might even call it the last surviving dinosaur. It has more or less survived lately on the server business but the rise of the cloud and cloud providers has seen its name overshadowed and almost forgotten. Now it’s adopting a strategy that may make it more enticing for those who want to move to the cloud without being locked in. The company has just announced a bid to acquire a fellow granddaddy, this time in the Linux space: Red Hat.

Microsoft now officially owns GitHub

Eric Abent | Oct 26, 2018

Back in June, Microsoft announced its intention to purchase GitHub. The monolithic company revealed that it would pay an impressive $7.5 billion in stock to add GitHub to its portfolio, making this one expensive deal. Today, we're getting word that the acquisition is complete, having gone through all the necessary regulatory channels to gain approval from the world's various governments.

Apple acquired Spektral for live cutout video magic

Chris Burns | Oct 10, 2018

It would appear as though Apple acquired a company by the name of Spektral at the tail end of the year 2017. This Danish group specialized in the isolation of objects in both still and moving images (and video), removing background elements from said objects in real time. This company previously aimed to create cloud-based applications and a Photoshop plugin - now it's inside Apple proper.

SiriusXM is buying Pandora, and that’s a huge deal

Eric Abent | Sep 24, 2018

It isn't exactly a secret that SiriusXM has lost a bit of its luster with the rise of inexpensive music streaming services, but as the old saying goes, "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em." SiriusXM has announced its intention to buy Pandora, which is one of the most popular music streaming services around. The proposed acquisition is valued at $3.5 billion, and the resulting company would be one of the largest music streaming businesses around.