acquisitions

Beats finally set to announce acquisition of MOG

Beats, the maker of the high-end headphones that have become a status symbol, is finally ready to disclose that it is acquiring digital music service MOG, according to sources familiar with the deal.

The deal could be announced any day, the sources said. Financial terms weren't available.

CNET first reported that MOG was for sale in February and AllThingsD reported three weeks later that Beats was amid an acquisition of the service, which had been a back-of-the-pack subscription music service for years.

"There's nothing to confirm at this time," said a Beats spokeswoman. Representatives from MOG … Read more

Microsoft acquires corporate social network Yammer for $1.2B

[UPDATED at 1:14 p.m. PT]

The rumors were right. Microsoft announced on June 25 it has bought enterprise social networking vendor Yammer for $1.2 billion.

Yammer will join the Microsoft Office Division, led by division President Kurt DelBene, and the team will continue to report to current Yammer CEO David Sacks, according to a Microsoft statement.

I doubt seriously whether Microsoft will be integrating any of Yammer's technology into Office 2013, as the client, server and services that are part of this wave are already quite far along in development. A public beta of Office 2013 … Read more

Microsoft reportedly in $1 billion deal for Yammer

Microsoft has agreed to acquire business software company Yammer for more than $1 billion, a person familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal.

The report did not indicate when the acquisition is expected to be announced or completed.

Yammer representatives declined to comment. CNET has also contacted Microsoft for comment and will update this report when we learn more.

San Francisco-based Yammer is sort of like Facebook for companies: employees can post, share, and discuss items. It's become an integral tool for many startups, but it's also big among larger businesses. More than 80 percent of … Read more

HTC to move forward with S3 Graphics acquisition

Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC says it plans to go ahead with its planned purchase of computer graphics company S3 Graphics.

HTC had announced last July that it planned to buy the California-based company for $300 million. S3 was an attractive takeover target for HTC, as its 270 patents had stood up well in disputes against Apple. But HTC got cold feet over its acquisition of S3 last fall, when the U.S. International Trade Commission ruled in favor of Apple in a patent dispute between S3 and Apple.

The company said in November that it was reconsidering its options. Now … Read more

Microsoft thought about Nokia buy, promptly backed out -- report

Microsoft considered acquiring Nokia before seeing its books and running away, according to a new report.

The Register is reporting today, citing "well-placed sources," that Nokia gave Microsoft access to its books late last year to allow the software giant to determine if any part of its operation was worth buying. Soon after, Microsoft moved on, apparently unimpressed by what it found.

It's not hard to see why: Nokia's sales are plummeting rapidly as mobile users increasingly turn to iOS and Android. Still, it's clear why Microsoft might have considered acquiring all or part of … Read more

Google acquires cloud-based Quickoffice

Google has acquired Quickoffice, a cloud-based enterprise that provides mobile access office programs, Google announced today.

Quickoffice's software allows users to view, edit, and create Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents on their mobile device.

"Today, consumers, businesses, and schools use Google Apps to get stuff done from anywhere, with anyone and on any device," according to a Google blog post. "Quickoffice has an established track record of enabling seamless interoperability with popular file formats, and we'll be working on bringing their powerful technology to our apps product suite."

Both companies see the acquisition … Read more

Google buys Meebo to bolster Google+

It looks like the rumors were true: Google has picked up Web IM company Meebo.

Meebo announced the news in a blog post today (which was brought to our attention by TechCrunch):

We are happy to announce that Meebo has entered into an agreement to be acquired by Google!

For more than seven years we've been helping publishers find deeper relationships with their users and to make their sites more social and engaging. Together with Google, we're super jazzed to roll up our sleeves and get cracking on even bigger and better ways to help users and Web … Read more

Twitter amps up design chops, buys IP from studio Nclud

Twitter has acquired the intellectual property of Nclud, a small web design agency, for an undisclosed amount.

"I can confirm that some members of the nclud team now work at Twitter," a Twitter spokesperson wrote in an email. "Twitter did not acquire nclud, the company, but we did acquire their IP." Earlier reports said Twitter had bought the company outright.

The Twitter spokesperson wouldn't say what is included in Nclud's IP or how many members of the firm's 10 member team now work at the company. Nclude co-founder Martin Ringlein announced in a … Read more

Salesforce.com scoops up Buddy Media for $689 million

Salesforce.com has officially entered into an agreement to acquire Buddy Media, the companies announced today.

According to enterprise cloud-computing firm Salesforce.com, it will pay $689 million in cash and equity to acquire the social media marketing company, confirming earlier reports that the firms were nearing a deal. The companies expect the deal to close during Salesforce's fiscal third quarter ended October 31.

For Salesforce, the synergy between the companies made the deal. Salesforce currently offers a "social media listening platform" called Radian 6 that the company says, will be vastly improved by Buddy Media's … Read more

Apple picks up Redmatica for audio push, maybe

Apple reportedly has purchased Italy-based music software company Redmatica.

A report from Italian blog Fanpage, and picked up by TechCrunch, says Apple has bought the company, which specializes in audio software tools.

A regulatory filing with the Italian Authority for Communications Guarantees, which was dug up by Fanpage, suggests the deal was approved earlier this week.

CNET has reached out to both Apple and Redmatica for more information, and will update this post when we know more.

Redmatica makes four pieces of audio software, including tools for sampling, editing, and library management. Its primary product is KeyMap Pro, a sampled … Read more