These acquisitions cost billions

The planned takeover of Talpa by RTL will not proceed. Although the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets blocked this deal, history shows many major acquisitions and mergers of companies. Which are these? MASTERS lists a number of them.

The planned takeover of Talpa by RTL is cancelled. Although this deal was stopped by the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets, history has seen many major acquisitions and mergers of companies. Which are these? MASTERS lists a number of them.

Vodafone and Mannesmann 

In 1999, the British telecommunications company 'Vodafone Air Touch PLC' wanted to buy the German Mannesmann AG from Vodafone and made two proposals. At first the German company was not interested. But three times is a charm... In the year 2000, the German company agreed. Vodafone paid – at today's current exchange rate – €188 billion for the takeover. With this amount, this acquisition will go down as the largest of all time... 

AOL and Time Warner

Bigger does not always mean better... The merger of internet provider AOL and media group Time Warner in 2000 is a good example of this. AOL announced in 2000 that it would buy Time Warner for €168 billion. However, after the dotcom bubble burst, the company fell apart again. A year after the merger, a loss of $99 billion was recorded. Furthermore, the stock price of both companies plummeted by 2002% by the end of December 90.

Verizon and Vodafone 

Vodafone and Verizon founded Verizon Wireless in 2000. The American telecom group Verizon Communications paid - at today's current exchange rate - approximately € 120 billion to its British peer Vodafone to take over its 45 percent stake in Verizon Wireless. The takeover was paid for in cash, shares and bonds.

Warner Lambert and Pfizer

Around the year 2000, Pfizer also decided it was time to scale up…. In 1999, the company acquired Warner Lambert for approximately €82 billion. Pfizer was the manufacturer of Viagra, but the takeover allowed it to expand its production line to include medicines. 

EMC and Dell

In 2016, Dell paid a whopping € 62 billion euros for the takeover of storage giant EMC. The increase in scale allowed Dell to increase its pace of investment and compete with companies such as HP Inc. While Dell was particularly strong in the market for small and medium-sized businesses, EMC dominated the large business market.