Top 10 Most Significant Tech Acquisitions of 2018
Looking to sell a business and need some inspiration? Hoping to buy a profitable business? Simply interested in notable business acquisitions? Look no further, because we have compiled a list of the top 10 most significant tech acquisitions of 2018.
According to international giant Deloitte, one of the “Big Four”, the number one driver of acquisitions in 2018 was technology acquisition.
In their annual study of Merger & Acquisition (M&A) activity, Deloitte noted that technology acquisition became more critical than adding to current products or services or expanding customer bases in existing markets.
In fact, one third of all deals pursued in 2018 involved acquiring technology or a digital strategy.
With this in mind, keep scrolling to read about some of the most significant tech acquisitions that occurred in 2018. Please note that we have only included acquisitions whose prices were made public. All amounts are listed in $USD.
1) SAP acquired Qualtrics for $8 billion
German-based software company SAP announced in November 2018 their plan to acquire Qualtrics, a Utah-based tech unicorn SaaS company.
Qualtrics, an experience management company offering a subscription software survey platform, had been preparing for an IPO and had set its price range at $18-21.
According to its IPO filing, revenue for the first half of 2018 was $184 million, an increase of 42 percent. The announcement of SAP’s acquisition of Qualtrics stopped the company’s IPO.
In an all-cash deal, SAP acquired all outstanding shares for $8 billion.
2) SAP’s America unit acquired SaaS company Callidus Software for $2.4 billion
SAP made another significant acquisition in 2018, namely its American unit which acquired Callidus Software (doing business as CallidusCloud) through a buyout of shares for an enterprise value of $2.4 billion.
SAP was in fact a previous customer of CallidusCloud, seeing a 50 percent improvement in sales productivity during this time.
CallidusCloud provides cloud-based human resource software, marketing, Lead to Money (Quote-to-Cash) systems, sales and customer experience solutions to its customers.
The acquisition of CallidusCloud will allow SAP to create a cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) solution that extends to an intelligent customer experience suite.
3) Vista Equity Partners acquired Apptio for $1.94 billion
A US-based investment firm dealing exclusively with data, software and technology-enabled organizations, Vista Equity Partners acquired software company Apptio for $1.94 billion two years after it went public. Going public at $16 per share, the cash deal took Apptio private for $38 per share.
Apptio, a SaaS company, develops technology business management software using machine learning to help companies fuel their digital transformation.
According to Apptio co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Sunny Gupta, the acquisition will allow the company to accelerate growth and introduce products to the market more quickly.
4) IBM acquired Red Hat for $34 billion
Red Hat, the world’s leading provider of open source cloud software, was acquired for $190 per share by IT giant IBM.
Totalling an equity value of approximately $34 billion, this landmark acquisition is the largest deal involving an open source company to date.
The combination of these two companies will enable companies to make full use of hybrid cloud, allowing business across various industries to continue down the path of digital reinvention.
5) Adobe acquired Marketo for $4.75 billion
Marketo, a SaaS-based marketing automation software used by both B2B and B2C marketers, was acquired by Adobe for $4.75 billion.
This procurement was a marked increase from the previous acquisition just two years prior, wherein Vista Equity Partners acquired Marketo for $1.8 billion.
Adobe’s already existing Adobe Experience Cloud platform benefited greatly from the Marketo Engagement Platform, becoming part of Adobe Marketing Cloud, significantly increasing its capabilities and connecting marketing engagement to revenue growth.
6) Cisco acquired Duo Security for $2.35 billion
Adding to its list of recently acquired security start-ups, well-known computer networking company Cisco acquired Michigan-based private company Duo Security for $2.35 billion.
After a financing round of $70 million, Duo Security had been last privately valued at $1.17 billion. Interestingly, Cisco was a participating investor in this round.
Duo allows secure connections to all applications, both in the cloud or on premises, due to its zero trust security model that verifies users’ identities as well as the health of their devices before granting access.
This addition of Duo’s technology to Cisco’s existing network, device and cloud security platforms helped accelerate its intent-based networking strategy.
Customers will be able to connect securely and easily to any application on any networked device.
7) Cisco acquired BroadSoft for $1.9 billion
Several months ahead of Cisco’s acquisition of Duo Security, the computer networking giant acquired publicly-traded cloud company BroadSoft, based in Maryland, for $1.9 billion.
Going public in 2010, BroadSoft specializes in cloud-based calling and contact centre solutions and is a global leader in Contact Centre-as-a-Service (CCaaS) and Unified Communications-as-a-Service (UCaaS).
With this acquisition, Cisco is looking to expand its collaboration and cloud solutions for better customer engagement, including expanding its calling, messaging, meetings and customer care portfolio.
8) PayPal acquired iZettle for $2.2 billion
Swedish mobile payments company iZettle was acquired by Paypal for $2.2 billion, which will help to boost PayPal’s in-store presence as competition increases within the online payments sector.
This acquisition came less than two weeks after iZettle had filed for an IPO with an expected company value of $1.1 billion.
The Swedish company, popular with small businesses in Europe and Latin America, created a mini chip-reader that can link to a tablet or smartphone easing the process of accepting card payments through mobile devices as well as services such as POS (point-of-sale) software.
Its acquisition will allow PayPal to build upon its existing products and services for small businesses and accelerate its growth.
9) Amazon acquired Ring for $1 billion
Specializing in smart doorbells equipped with cameras, US-based startup company Ring was acquired by retail and technology giant Amazon for more than $1 billion.
Recording live video and sending it right to users’ smartphones, Ring’s doorbells will expand Amazon’s reach into smart-home technology.
The doorbells are also equipped with audio equipment, allowing users to communicate with delivery people, creating an elevated experience when ordering from Amazon.
10) DocuSign acquired SpringCM for $220 million
Chicago-based cloud company SpringCM was acquired by San Francisco-based DocuSign for $220 million in cash.
SpringCM specializes in cloud-based document generation and contract lifestyle management software, which will accelerate DocuSign’s modernization of its Systems of Agreement (SofA).
Users will have the ability to modernize the way agreements are prepared, signed, acted on, and managed.
There you have it, our top 10 list of most significant tech acquisitions of 2018. Do you agree with our list? Did we leave out an acquisition that you thought was significant? Let us know below!
If you liked this article, be sure to keep an eye out for our top 10 list of most significant acquisitions of 2019. With only a month left in the year, there is still time for some noteworthy deals to be made!
