The Microsoft-Yahoo deal: How does it compare?
- — 05 February, 2008 08:42
IBM buys Lotus Development (1995)
Why: Losing against Windows with OS/2, IBM wanted to open another front against Microsoft with strong desktop software products. Lotus had Notes, then the dominant "groupware" product, and its SmartSuite office productivity suite.
Price: US$3.5 billion
Hostile/friendly: Lotus initially looked for a "white knight" to save it from IBM's clutches but quickly succumbed after IBM re-raised its offer.
Key premerger stats:
Notes was used by 1.5 million employees at 5,500 companies at the time, according to The New York Times.
Postmerger:
Notes remains popular, though Microsoft Outlook and Exchange surpassed it nearly five years ago. SmartSuite was a nonstarter. However, IBM is taking another stab at unseating Microsoft in Office and e-mail. Notes 8 is now much slicker-looking, while IBM has introduced an office suite based around OpenOffice technology that draws upon the old Lotus Symphony brand name.
Other major IBM acquisitions:
2002: PricewaterhouseCoopers, for US$3.5 billion
2003: Rational Software, for US$2.1 billion
2007: Cognos, for US$5 billion
Sources: Computerworld, IDG News Service, Microsoft.com, Wikipedia, Morningstar.com, HP.com, SEC.gov, Bizjournals.com, The New York Times, News.com
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