Noteworthy tech acquisitions 2022

Amid the on-going coronavirus pandemic, 2021 followed in the footsteps of its predecessor, continuing to be an unpredictable, and at times incredibly difficult, year. But one thing that stayed constant was the steady flow of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) across the tech sector.

According to research by Global Data, global tech M&A deals had already neared $3 trillion by Q3, largely supported by the tech, media, and telecom sectors. Although nothing rivalled Xilinx’s $35 billion acquisition of Advanced Micro Devices in 2020, last year did see Intuit buy Mailchimp for $12 billion and Square splash out a princely sum — $29 billion — for Afterpay.

GlobalData

As for whether 2022 will maintain last year’s pace, early signs seem to suggest there will be no slowing of big deals across the industry, with cybersecurity and collaboration software already proving to be hot areas.

Here are the biggest enterprise technology acquisitions of 2022 so far, in reverse chronological order:

September 14: SandboxAQ acquires Cryptosense

Enterprise SaaS company SandboxAQ, has confirmed its acquisition of cybersecurity and encryption analysis software company, Cryptosense.

Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Paris, Cryptosense provides security software that allows users to detect and correct vulnerabilities caused by misuse of cryptography in applications.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the announcement comes just weeks after SandboxAQ unveiled its Strategic Investment Program and initial investment in Canadian quantum cybersecurity company, evolutionQ.

In a statement announcing the acquisition, Jack D. Hidary, CEO of SandboxAQ, said: “The combined leadership, talent, and expertise that SandboxAQ and Cryptosense bring to the marketplace accelerates the deployment of more effective cryptography solutions to protect the world against the security threats of today and tomorrow.”

September 2: UK’s Competition and Markets Authority clears NortonLifeLock-Avast merger

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has officially cleared the $6 billion acquisition of Avast by Arizona-based NortonLifeLock.

The deal hit a regulatory roadblock in March when the CMA announced it would be investigating the proposed purchase, citing concerns it would damage the competitiveness of the UK cybersecurity market, potentially leading to a worse deal for UK consumers on security software.

However, following an in-depth Phase 2 investigation, the CMA determined that: “The merging businesses will continue to face sufficient competition after the deal completes and has concluded that the merger does not raise competition concerns.”

As a result of the CMA ruling, the deal, which has already been given regulatory approval in the US and Germany, is expected to close this month.

August 26: OpenText buys Micro Focus

OpenText has announced its acquisition of British software and consultancy company Micro Focus for $6 billion.

Micro Focus is no stranger to mergers and acquisitions, having bought multiple legacy software companies such as Borland, Novell and Cobol-IT during its 46 year history. In 2016, the company made a $8.8 billion deal to merge with HPE’s software business segment.

In the statement about the deal, OpenText CEO & CTO Mark J. Barrenechea said the company is looking forward to welcoming Micro Focus customers, partners and employees into the fold. “Customers of OpenText and Micro Focus will benefit from a partner that can even more effectively help them accelerate their digital transformation efforts by unlocking the full value of their information assets and core systems,” he said.

August 1: UiPath acquires natural language processing company Re:infer

Enterprise automation software firm UiPath, announced its acquisition of Re:infer, a London-based natural language processing company for unstructured documents and communications.

Founded in 2015 by Ph.D. scientists from UCLA, Re:infer uses machine-learning technology to mine context from messages and transform them into actionable data. As a result of the acquisition, Re:infer’s features are already available to UiPath customers in private preview, with further integration plans set to be announced later this year.

The terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed, but in a statement announcing the purchase, Ted Kummert, executive vice president for products and engineering at UiPath, said: “Combining Re:infer’s NLP technology with our Document Understanding and AI products expands the breadth of our current AI-powered automation capabilities and unlocks new automation opportunities for our customers.”

July 21: Amazon to acquire One Medical in all-cash deal

Amazon announced its intent to purchase One Medical, which runs a membership-based primary care platform, in a $3.9 billion all-cash deal, inclusive of debt.

One Medical previously raised $532.1 million over 11 rounds of funding, including investments from The Carlyle Group and backing from Google’s parent company Alphabet. One Medical eventually went public in January 2020.

In a statement on One Medical’s website, CEO Amir Dan Rubin, who will remain in place following closure of the deal, wrote that the acquisition will allow One Medical to “further deliver better health, better care, better value, within a better team environment through our technology-powered, human-centered model.”

July 6: GoTo to acquire Miradore

GoTo, the company formerly known as LogMeIn, has announced its intention to acquire Miradore, a cloud-based device management provider for an undisclosed amount. Miradore is currently owned by the Nordic technology investor Standout Capital.

Founded in 2006, Miradore is a mobile device management (MDM) cloud platform that allows IT teams to manage end users across iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS. GoTo expects to integrate Miradore’s technology with its GoTo Resolve IT support and management product in 2023.

In a statement, GoTo CEO Mike Kohlsdorf said, “Miradore’s scalable, SMB-focused solutions are a natural fit for GoTo and our customers, and we’re extremely excited to be working together… All of this will further bolster GoTo’s internal talent and market potential within the fast-growing MDM market, which is expected to surpass $28 billion by 2027.”

June 23: Kaseya acquires Datto for $6.2B

Kaseya, a maker of IT service and security management software, said Thursday it had finalized its $6.2 billion acquisition of cybersecurity company Datto, promising tight integration between the two companies’ products and lower pricing for customers. The deal’s closure marks the third high-profile acquisition for Kaseya in the past 18 months; the company acquired security threat response company Infocyte in January, and threat detection company BitDam in March 2021.

In a statement, Kaseya CEO Fred Voccola said: “We bought Datto because we think they’re AWESOME – their world-class products, highly-regarded brand, innovative culture and amazing people – we have no intention of messing up any of that. We will build on what they created so in the end, MSPs will get the maximum value from their solutions at an affordable price.”

June 7: Oracle closes Cerner acquisition

Six months after first announcing it was acquiring electronic health records company Cerner, Oracle finally closed the deal for $28 billion.

Oracle’s purchase is not the only high-cost healthcare acquisition this year. In March, Microsoft completed its $20 billion purchase of Nuance Communications, a provider of conversational AI- and cloud-based ambient clinical intelligence to the healthcare sector.

In a statement confirming the purchase, Oracle said: “Combining our existing healthcare industry solutions…with our acquisition of Cerner, we believe Oracle has a uniquely positioned opportunity to offer new solutions to a broken healthcare system.”

May 26: Broadcom to acquire VMware for $61B

Semiconductor manufacturer and infrastructure software giant Broadcom will acquire virtualization and enterprise cloud vendor VMware in a deal worth roughly $61 billion in stock and cash, the companies announced on May 26. Broadcom will also assume $8 billion of VMware net debt as part of the deal, which is one of the biggest of the year so far.

“Building upon our proven track record of successful M&A, this transaction combines our leading semiconductor and infrastructure software businesses with an iconic pioneer and innovator in enterprise software as we reimagine what we can deliver to customers as a leading infrastructure technology company,” Broadcom CEO Hock Tan said in a statement. “We look forward to VMware’s talented team joining Broadcom, further cultivating a shared culture of innovation and driving even greater value for our combined stakeholders, including both sets of shareholders.”

The deal, which is still subject to customary regulatory approval and closing conditions, will see the existing Broadcom Software Group fully rebranded as VMware.

May 11: Salesforce acquires Troops.ai

Salesforce has announced that it will acquire Troops.ai for an undisclosed amount. Founded in 2016, Troops.ai is a revenue and communications platform that uses Slack and Microsoft Teams bots to surface CRM data from platforms such as Salesforce.

In a statement, Salesforce said that Troops and its team will become part of Slack—which it acquired in 2020—when the deal closes in 2023.

“We’ve been a leader in the industry, working with some of the fastest-growing companies in the world, including Salesforce and Slack,” Troops’ CEO and cofounder Dan Reich wrote in a blog post. “We’ve done this by delivering real-time insights from systems of record like Salesforce to systems of engagement like Slack, bringing together information and actions that customer-facing teams need to close new deals and support existing customers.”

May 5: Google acquires microLED startup Raxium

Google has acquired Raxium, a five-year-old Bay Area startup working on microLED display technologies for wearables and augmented and virtual reality (AR and VR) headsets. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but could be as much as $1 billion, according to reports by The Information.

In a blog post announcing the acquisition, Rick Osterloh, senior vice president of devices and services at Google, said: “Raxium’s technical expertise in this area will play a key role as we continue to invest in our hardware efforts.”

The Raxium team will immediately join Google’s devices and services team.

April 25: Elon Musk buys Twitter for $44B

Nine years after going public, and eleven days after billionaire Elon Musk first made an offer to buy Twitter, the social media network announced it would become a privately owned company once again.

The purchase price totals an eye-watering $44 billion and is includes of $21 billion of Musk’s own money, alongside debt funding from Morgan Stanley and other financial institutions. The purchase price represents a 38% premium to Twitter’s closing stock price on April 1.

Despite initially declining Musk’s offer and enacting anti-takeover measures, the board ultimately decided to accept Musk’s offer once it saw confirmed funding for the acquisition.

In a company statement, Bret Taylor, Twitter’s independent board chair, said: “The Twitter Board conducted a thoughtful and comprehensive process to assess Elon’s proposal with a deliberate focus on value, certainty, and financing. The proposed transaction will deliver a substantial cash premium, and we believe it is the best path forward for Twitter’s stockholders.”

April 11: Kaseya buys Datto for $6.2B and takes the company private

Security software company Kaseya has agreed to buy Datto for $6.2 billion and will take the company private again, after it listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2020. Datto was founded in 2007 and provides data backup and security software, primarily to managed service providers.

“This is exciting news for Kaseya’s global customers, who can expect to see more functional, innovative and integrated solutions as a result of the purchase,” said Fred Voccola, Kaseya’s CEO.

April 5: AMD acquires Pensando for $1.9B

Chipmaker AMD has announced the acquisition of Pensando for approximately $1.9 billion.

Pensado specializes in data processing unites (DPUs), which include intelligent, programmable software to support the software-defined cloud, compute, networking, storage, and security services that could be rolled out quickly to edge, colocation, or service-provider networks.

“There are a wide range of use cases—such as 5G and IoT—that need to support lots of low-latency traffic,” Soni Jiandani, Pensando cofounder and chief business office told Network World last November. “We’ve taken a ground-up approach to giving enterprise customers a fully programmable system with the ability to support multiple infrastructure services without dedicated CPUs.”

March 29: Celonis acquires Process Analytics Factory

Process mining specialist Celonis is acquiring fellow German software firm, Process Analytics Factory, for a reported $100 million.

Up until now, Celonis has been focused on helping enterprises optimize processes around their ERP systems — and more recently has branched out to help them optimize their use of workflow automation platforms, too. Now it is acquiring Process Analytics Factory to improve its process mining offering and help enterprises automate with Microsoft’s Power Platform.

In October 2020 Celonis launched its Execution Management System (EMS) to visualize and design more efficient processes, and in April 2021 it formed a partnership with Microsoft to deliver process analytics through Power BI and to integrate its process improvement tools with Microsoft power Platform. Then, in October 2021, it partnered with ServiceNow to deliver process mining capabilities to the Now platform. It also has technology partnerships with Appian, Coupa, IBM, Oracle, Salesforce, Snowflake, Splunk, and a handful of other software vendors.

March 28: HP to acquire Poly for $3.3B

HP has announced it is acquiring Poly, a company that specializes in video and audio equipment, for a purchase price of $1.7 billion, with a total transaction value of $3.3 billion, including debt. The deal is expected to close by the end of 2022.

The acquisition is set to accelerate HP’s foray into the world of hybrid work, coming eight months after the company purchased remote desktop software provider Teradici.

Founded in 1990 and originally named Polycom, the company was acquired by headset maker Plantronics in 2019, after which the two newly merged companies rebranded themselves as Poly. Since then, the company has focused on providing enterprise-grade collaboration products, such as meeting room speakers and cameras, webcams, headsets, and software.

“The rise of the hybrid office creates a once-in-a-generation opportunity to redefine the way work gets done,” said Enrique Lores, president and CEO of HP. “Combining HP and Poly creates a leading portfolio of hybrid work solutions across large and growing markets. Poly’s strong technology, complementary go-to-market, and talented team will help to drive long-term profitable growth as we continue building a stronger HP.”

March 23: Apple acquires UK fintech startup Credit Kudos

Apple is acquiring the UK-based fintech startup Credit Kudos for an undisclosed amount. Credit Kudos last raised £5 million ($6.5 million) in funding in April 2020.

Neither Credit Kudos or Apple could be reached to confirm the deal, which was first reported by the crypto-focused publication The Block, citing three sources close to the deal.

Credit Kudos is a challenger credit bureau that uses machine learning and real-time data to build up a fuller picture of a person’s credit score, rather than traditional agencies, which typically rely on older information such as bank and utility statements to build a profile.

The firm has also benefitted from the recent wave of open banking regulations across the globe, which aim to open up consumer financial data via a set of secure application programming interfaces (APIs). Credit Kudos provides this data to clients for services such as affordability and risk assessments.

It is unclear what Apple plans to do with Credit Kudos, but the company has invested significantly in its fintech capabilities over recent years — in particular, its mobile Apple Pay wallet and its Apple Card credit card, which is currently only available in the US and was built in partnership with Goldman Sachs.

March 8: Google buys cybersecurity company Mandiant for $5.4B

Google will acquire cyberdefense and response firm Mandiant for $5.4 billion, in a move to offer an end-to-end security operations suite and advisory services from its cloud platform.

“Cybersecurity is a mission, and we believe it’s one of the most important of our generation,” Mandiant CEO Kevin Mandia said in a statement announcing the acquisition. “Google Cloud shares our mission-driven culture to bring security to every organization. Together, we will deliver our expertise and intelligence at scale via the Mandiant Advantage SaaS platform, as part of the Google Cloud security portfolio.”

March 3: Snowflake buys Streamlit for $800M

Data cloud company Snowflake has acquired Streamlit for $800 million, enabling developers and data scientists to build apps using tools with simplified data access and governance.

Streamlit’s open-source framework allows developers and data scientists to build and share data apps quickly and iteratively, without the need to be an expert in front-end development. According to Streamlit, the platform has had more than 8 million downloads and more than 1.5 million applications have been built using it.

“At Snowflake, we believe in bringing together open standards and open source with industry-leading data governance and security,” Snowflake Co-Founder and President of Products Benoit Dageville said in a statement announcing the acquisition. “When Snowflake and Streamlit come together, we will be able to provide developers and data scientists with a single, powerful hub to discover and collaborate with data they can trust to build next generation data apps and shape the future of data science.”

Feb. 28: Rakuten Symphony acquires Kubernetes platform Robin.io

The recently launched telco-focused arm of Japan’s Rakuten Group, Rakuten Symphony, has acquired Robin.io, a startup offering a Kubernetes platform optimized for storage and complex network applications.

The two companies did not disclose the price of the acquisition. Since first launching, Robin.io has moved beyond its original focus on storage to offer a more full-featured Kubernetes platform, providing large telcos with ways of  automating 5G services applications on Kubernetes and orchestrating private 5G and LTE deployments.

“Robin.io’s technology innovations over the last several years will now get a much bigger canvas to lead the vision for cloud-native transformation for the industry. Our vision to deliver simple to use, easy to deploy hyperscale automation is very well aligned,” said Robin.io CEO Partha Seetala.

Feb. 24: Cloudflare acquires security startup Area 1 Security

Cloudflare announced plans to acquire Area 1 Security for around $126 million, using both cash and stock to fund the acquisition.

Cloudflare has its own suite of zero-trust security products designed to prevent data loss, malware and phishing attacks, even when employees aren’t using their office network or a VPN. This deal will see the company add email security to this portfolio.

Area 1 Security has developed a product that stops phishing attacks sent via email before they reach an inbox. The company claims to have blocked more than 40 million phishing attempts in 2021 alone.

Cloudflare cCo-founder and CEO Matthew Prince said in a statement: “To us, the future of Zero Trust includes an integrated, one-click approach to securing all of an organization’s applications, including its most ubiquitous cloud application, email. Together, we expect we’ll be delivering the fastest, most effective, and most reliable email security on the market.”

Feb. 15: Intel to acquire Tower Semiconductor

Intel announced plans to acquire Tower Semiconductor for $5.4 billion, giving it access to more specialized production as it looks to take advantage of growing demand for semiconductors. The deal has been approved by both company boards, but is expected to take as long as 12 months to move through the normal regulatory channels.

Intel announced last year that it was planning to enter the foundry market to produce chips designed by their customers. Tower has been investing in multiple locations in recent years to boost capacity for 200- and 300-millimeter chips. It serves “fabless” companies, who design chips but outsource manufacturing, and integrated device manufacturers.

Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger sees the move as a good fit for the company’s vision. “Tower’s specialty technology portfolio, geographic reach, deep customer relationships and services-first operations will help scale Intel’s foundry services and advance our goal of becoming a major provider of foundry capacity globally,” he said in a statement.

Feb. 15: Akamai acquires Linode for $900M

Akamai has entered into an agreement to acquire Linode, an infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) platform provider, for approximately $900 million. Akamai reportedly expects Linode to add about $100 million in revenue for FY22.

Founded in 2003, Linode has positioned itself as an IaaS alternative to public cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud. Unlike many of its competitors, Linode says it had not raised outside funding, boasting it “has successfully run a profitable business since [its] inception.”

“The opportunity to combine Linode’s developer-friendly cloud computing capabilities with Akamai’s market-leading edge platform and security services is transformational for Akamai,” Akamai CEO and co-founder Tom Leighton said  in a statement. “Akamai has been a pioneer in the edge computing business for over 20 years, and today we are excited to begin a new chapter in our evolution by creating a unique cloud platform to build, run and secure applications from the cloud to the edge.”

Jan 31: Citrix to be acquired by private equity firms for $16.5B

Cloud computing and virtualization company Citrix is being acquired by private equity firms Vista Equity Partners and Evergreen Coast Capital for $16.5 billion. It’s been reported that Vista plans to combine Citrix with Tibco, which it acquired in 2014 for $4.3 billion.

The all-cash deal will see the publicly traded Citrix go private and will include the assumption of Citrix’s debt, the companies said.

In a statement announcing the acquisition, Bob Calderoni, chair of the Citrix board of directors and interim CEO and president said: “Over the past three decades, Citrix has established itself as the clear leader in secure hybrid work. Our market-leading platform provides secure and reliable access to all of the applications and information employees need to get work done, wherever it needs to get done.”

Jan. 31: Sony buys US game developer Bungie in $3.6B deal

Hot on the heels of Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Sony announced it’s buying Bungie, the gaming studio responsible for titles such as “Destiny” and “Halo,” for $3.6 billion.

Bungie started life in the early 1990’s, building games for Mac computers, until it was bought by Microsoft in 2000 to become part of Microsoft Game Division. In 2007, Bungie split off from its parent company, although Microsoft retained a minority stake and continued to partner with Bungie on publishing and marketing of its biggest selling game, “Halo,” and future projects.

“Today, Bungie begins our journey to become a global multi-media entertainment company,” CEO Pete Parsons wrote in a blog post announcing the deal. “We will continue to independently publish and creatively develop our games. With SIE’s support, the most immediate change you will see is an acceleration in hiring talent across the entire studio to support our ambitious vision.”

Jan. 18: Microsoft to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7B

Microsoft announced it’s acquiring Activision Blizzard for an eye-watering $68.7 billion — $26 billion more than the company paid for LinkedIn in 2016. The deal is Microsoft’s biggest-ever and set to be the largest all-cash acquisition on record. It will help boost the company’s standings in the videogaming market, bringing titles such as “Call of Duty,” “World of Warcraft,” and “Overwatch” onto its Xbox platform.

In a blog post on Xbox Wire, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said: “As a team, we are on a mission to extend the joy and community of gaming to everyone on the planet. We all know that gaming is the most vibrant and dynamic form of entertainment worldwide and we’ve experienced the power of social connection and friendship that gaming makes possible.”

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, in a seperate statement, highlighted gaming as one of the most dynamic and exciting entertainment categories across all platforms, and said it “will play a key role in the development of metaverse platforms.”

The acquisition raised eyebrows beyond the sheer size of the sale price, however. In July 2021, California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing filed suit against Activision Blizzard, citing “numerous complaints about unlawful harassment, discrimination, and retaliation” at the company.

Activision Blizzard has been accused of sexual harassment and discrimination, under-paying female workers, union-busting, and of having a “frat boy” work culture and “rock-star” mentality. In November, Activision Blizzard employees staged a walkout and have put forward a petition with more than 700 signatures demanding CEO Bobby Kotick be removed.

While Microsoft did not address the issues when announcing the acquisition, speculation quickly emerged about whether Kotick will continue after the deal is finalized. The Wall Street Journal reported “the companies have agreed that he will part when the deal closes.”

Jan. 5: Google buys Siemplify for $500M

Google has announced its acquisition of cybersecurity company Siemplify for $500 million. The Israel-based cybersecurity startup specializes in end-to-end security services for enterprises, typically referred to as security orchestration, automation and response (SOAR) services.

Google and Siemplify have both confirmed the acquisition, noting that Siemplify will be integrated into Google Cloud Platform, and specifically its Chronicle operation. In a blog post, Sunil Potti VP/GM, Google Cloud Security stated that both companies “share the belief that security analysts need to be able to solve more incidents with greater complexity while requiring less effort and less specialized knowledge.”

“With Siemplify, we will change the rules on how organizations hunt, detect, and respond to threats,” he said.

Forrester Analyst, Allie Mellen, noted that “A SOAR tool has been the missing piece for Google’s Chronicle offering since practically its inception — other security analytics platforms began incorporating SOAR as early as 2017.

“This acquisition is an important step in providing a unified offering to practitioners and in being able to compete more directly in the security analytics platform space,” Mellen said.

Jan 4: Zoom acquires Liminal assets

Zoom has announced it had acquired assets from Liminal as part of its ongoing ambition to enhance the future of events.

Liminal, a start-up company that offers event production solutions built largely on Zoom’s SDK, will now form part of Zoom’s team that intends to develop best-in-class programs and solutions that can be accessed online from anywhere in the world. By adding these capabilities and more to its events management offerings, Zoom seeks to continue to be the leading comprehensive, one-stop, hybrid events management platform in the market.

As part of the asset acquisition, two of Liminal’s co-founders, Andy Carluccio and Jonathan Kokotajlo, will join Zoom, and have the shared ambition to provide more dynamic and customisable event offerings solutions to customers.

In a blog post detailing the purchase, Zoom’s Chief Marketing Officer, Janine Pelosi, said: “Liminal’s software can connect multiple HD video feeds from Zoom to production-grade hardware and applications. By adding these capabilities and more to our events management and production offerings, we believe we will continue to be the leading comprehensive, one-stop, hybrid events management platform in the market.”