Verizon sold AOL and Yahoo to Apollo Global today for $5 billion...less than half what it originally paid for the two media companies

But that is far from the worst acquisition ever

Here are 10 of the biggest M&A flops of all time
10. News Corp x Myspace

2005: Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp buys Myspace for $580 million

2011: News Corp sells Myspace to Specific Media and Justin Timberlake for about $35 million

Loss: $545 million

Lesson: Bad redesigns and too much focus on ads paved the way for Zuck to win
9. eBay x Skype

2005: eBay buys Skype for $2.6 billion

2009: eBay sells Skype to various VC firms for $1.9 billion

Loss: $700 million

Lesson: Buyers and sellers on eBay didn't actually have any reason to connect over video chat
8. Quaker x Snapple

1994: Quaker buys Snapple for $1.7 billion

1996: Quaker sells Snapple for $300 million

Loss: $1.4 billion

Lesson: Quaker tried to get Snapple into grocers and restaurants which ended up being a whiff since consumers mainly bought it in convenience stores
7. Mattel x The Learning Company

1998: Mattel buys The Learning Company for $4.2 billion

2000: Mattel gives away The Learning Company in a zero-cash-upfront deal

Loss: $4.2 billion

Lesson: It's hard for a low-tech company like Mattel to acquire and run a tech company
6. Microsoft x Nokia

2014: Microsoft buys Nokia for $7.9 billion

2015: Microsoft writes down acquisition for $7.6 billion

Loss: $7.6 billion

Lesson: Don't buy a company that makes consumer hardware no one wants anymore
5. HP x Autonomy

2011: HP buys European data analytics company Autonomy for $11.1 billion

2016: HP writes down acquisition for $9 billion

Loss: $9 billion

Lesson: Buying a company that doesn't fit into your company strategy in any logical way is always a bad strategy
4. Google x Motorola

2011: Google buys Motorola for $12.5 billion

2013: Google sells Motorola to Lenovo for $2.9 billion

Loss: $9.6 billion

Lesson: Motorola phones just aren't very good
3. Sprint x Nextel

2005: Sprint and Nextel complete a $35 billion merger

2008: Sprint writes down Nextel's value by $30 billion

Loss: $30 billion

Lesson: Nextel's walkie-talkies and Sprint's consumer cell phone network didn't actually vibe
2. Bank of America x Countrywide

2008: Bank of America buys mortgage lender Countrywide for $2.5 billion

2008: Housing crisis happens

Loss: At least $40 billion

Lesson: Don't buy the nation's biggest mortgage lender right before a massive housing crisis
1. AOL x Time Warner

2000: AOL merges with Time Warner in a $165 billion deal

2015: Verizon buys AOL for $4.4 billion

Loss: AOL written off for $99 billion in 2002

Lesson: Poor timing, bad cultures, and dial-up internet make for a nasty combo. Easily the worst merger ever.

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More from @MorningBrew

3 May
1/ Happy Monday

Here are some things in the biz world to keep an eye on for the week ahead

But first, like this tweet if you're pumped about Ethereum hitting 3k

RT if you couldn't care less
2/ Economic data

The April jobs report will drop on Friday. The most bullish economists think the US could have added upwards of 1 million new jobs last month...which is really good
3/ Earnings

There’s an earnings report for everyone this week

• Vaccines (Moderna, Pfizer, CVS)
• Travel (Hilton, Booking Holdings, Expedia, Uber)
• Pandemic-boosted businesses (Etsy, PayPal, Roku, Square, Peloton)
Read 5 tweets
26 Apr
1/ This week, Apple is rolling out its iOS 14.5 software update for iPhone users, including...

The ability to unlock phones with your face while wearing a mask

217 new emojis to express emotions you didn’t even know you had
2/ But there’s one particular iOS 14.5 update that’s less “oh neat!” and more “this could shake up the $105 billion mobile ad industry.”

It’s called App Tracking Transparency
3/ With this new feature, apps will be required to ask for your permission to track your activity across the internet.

That data is crucial to advertisers who want to use your internet history to show you ads you’re more likely to click on.
Read 10 tweets
15 Apr
Jeff Bezos' annual shareholders letter was sent today

Here are 12 of the most notable quotes from the Executive Chair himself
1. On how to be successful

"If you want to be successful in business (in life, actually), you have to create more than you consume."
2. On how much Amazon pays employees

"In 2020, employees earned $80 billion, plus another $11 billion to include benefits and various payroll taxes, for a total of $91 billion."
Read 13 tweets
14 Apr
Coinbase is going public today

it has a $250 "reference price" for its direct listing which would value the company at around $65 billion fully diluted

but it's likely going to start trading much much higher than that

here's why
The reference price is just that, a reference

it's provided by the Nasdaq and is reflective of Coinbase's most recent trades in the private market
But it is NOT reflective of where the stock will begin trading

for example other prominent direct listings like Spotify, Slack, Palantir, Asana, and Roblox opened an average of 37% above their reference prices
Read 5 tweets
16 Mar
1/ We're just going to rip off the Band-Aid

President Biden is aiming to raise taxes sooner rather than later, according to a new Bloomberg report.

Here's what you can expect from what would be the first major federal tax hike since 1993
2/ FOR HIGH-NETWORTH INDIVIDUALS

1. Income tax would be bumped up to 39.6% for those earning $400,000+

2. Capital gains would be taxed like normal income if you earn $1 million+

3. Estate taxes would increase to 45% for assets worth $1 million+
3/ FOR BUSINESSES

The headline proposal is raising the corporate rate from 21% to 28%

Biden may also get rid of preferential tax treatment for "pass-through businesses" like LLCs and increase incentives to avoid offshoring

Why do this?
Read 8 tweets
15 Mar
A scintillating first round of matchups has come and gone, but the quest to name the GPOAT rages ever onwards

Round 2 voting is now live

Head on down to the replies to cast your vote for the GPOAT

Here. We. Go.
UNSUNG HEROES REGION

Windows rolled in its first round matchup, but Tupperware is no pushover
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Read 19 tweets

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