Tech M&A: Biggest Technology Acquisitions of 2020

Tech M&A: Biggest Technology Acquisitions of 2020

In spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 has proven to be a banner year for tech acquisitions. Agile companies stand to grow in the wake of the crisis, especially those that offer remote learning, telehealth, or other vital services. These are some of the biggest M&A deals in the second half of the year. 

 

  1. Adobe’s acquisition of Workfront for $1.5 billion. Adobe announced the acquisition in the beginning of November. The task management tool has proven competitive in a difficult space. It focuses specifically on marketing professionals, making it a great fit for Adobe’s experience cloud. 
  2. Marvell Technology’s acquisition of Inphi for $10 billion. The semiconductor market is rapidly consolidating. Marvell Technology announced its intention to acquire Inphi in a cash-and-stock deal in October. This was preceded by AMD’s acquisition of Xilinx earlier that month, as well as Nvidia’s purchase of Arm in September. 
  3. Twilio acquires Segment for $3.2 billion. Twilio, a cloud communication specialist, acquired data platform Segmen in an all-stock deal. The two companies together can remove data silos, making it easier to act on customer data. 
  4. Nvidia acquires Arm for $40 billion. The stock-and cash deal merges Nvidia’s AI computing capacity with the massive ecosystem of Arm, expanding AI’s power across the globe.
  5. Progress Software acquires Chef for $220 million. The infrasturcture-as-code pioneer Chef will now fold into Progress Software. The relatively low price tag points to the challenges Chef had in maintaining early momentum in the very competitive DevOps spaced. In 2015, the company was valued at $360 million. 
  6. HPE acquires Silver Peak for $925 million. Silver Peak specializes in Wan technology, and will partner with HPE’s brand Aruba. 
  7. SUSE acquires Rancher. SUSE, an enterprise Linux expert, acquired Rancher for an undisclosed amount. The company has a popular open source customer management platform, boasting several large businesses as clients. 
  8. Uber acquires Postmates for $2.65 billion. The once-rivals are a great fit in this all-stock takeover. Postmates should strengthen the Uber Eats brand and expand the capacity of Uber. 
  9. Google acquires North. After a failed attempt at smart glasses with Google Glass, the search engine acquired glasses manufacturer North in June for an undisclosed amount. The company makes popular Focals smart glasses, and will merge with Google in its home office in Kitchener-Waterloo. 
  10. Amazon acquires Zoox for £1.2 billion. Amazon acquired the self-driving car company Zoox in June. The retailer has shown significant interest in self-driving vehicles for years, with its stakes in Rivian and Aurora.