Talks of billions, hushed deals, closed-door meetings are just some of the similarities between the biggest mergers and acquisitions that went down in the last decade.
From tech giants swallowing young competition to fashion houses crumbling only to be bought out by those who managed to weather the economic slowdown, the 2010s have been a period of big buyouts.
As we sail into a new decade, here’s a look at some of the biggest business deals of the one gone by.
What An Idea, Vodafone!
The telecom space saw some old connections being disconnected and new ones forged. After will-they-won’t-they, the year finally saw Vodafone and Idea Cellular merge. It was the result of many rounds of talks and some practical concerns as well: the two companies decided to merge after a huge tariff war that was precipitated by the entry of Jio from the Reliance stable. And while the jury is still out on whether the merger has been able “to improve the network and offer customers a better experience” as promised, it has helped Vodafone-Idea beat Reliance Jio and Airtel to become India’s largest telecom company with 408 million active subscribers and revenue market share of 32.2 per cent.
Some More Mergers
The Vodafone-Idea merger was not the only one that became a single entity. In October, the Government announced the merger of the two PSUs as a way of reviving them. The government decided to pump in Rs 29,937 cr for their revival while their assets, worth Rs 38,000 cr, would be monetised. As a part of the merger, the government also announced a Voluntary Retirement Scheme plan for employees of both entities which 92,700 of its employees opted for.
We Are Family
In 2012, Facebook acquired photo-sharing platform Instagram for approximately $1bn. Two years later, it picked up messaging app WhatsApp for an estimated $19.3bn. Even as the original founders of both apps didn’t stick around for long in the Facebook fold, Instagram has grown to 1 billion monthly active users while WhatsApp has close to 1.5 billion users.
And while the apps will remain distinct, the messaging infrastructure would be unified. Privacy experts, though, around the world didn’t seem too enthused by the ‘we are family’ call led by Mark Zuckerberg.
Add To Cart
In what became the biggest e-commerce deal not just of the decade, but ever, American multinational retail corporation Walmart acquired Bengaluru-based Flipkart in a massive $16 billion agreement, in August last year.
The deal was met with protests and fears from small local traders that it would drive them out of business, however, that didn’t deter the two giants with Walmart eventually getting an initial stake of 77 per cent, valuing the e-tailer close to $20 billion.
The deal also marked the end of an era in the Indian startup space. Poster boy of the Indian startup scene, Sachin Bansal left the company he co-founded, selling his 5.5-6% stake for roughly $1 billion. While Binny Bansal stayed on, he sold a small portion of his minority holding while keeping a 3.85% stake. Though in another deal this year, Binny sold some more shares, bringing his stake to 3.52%.
French Breakfasts At Tiffany’s
It was a sparkling $16.2 billion deal that came after months of intense negotiations which led LVMH to acquire iconic American jewellery brand, Tiffany. In addition to putting rumours about the brand with the birds-egg blue box to rest, the deal became one of the largest acquisitions in the luxury retail segment.
The incredible sale is now also the biggest deal of LVMH’s 70-year-old CEO Bernard Arnault’s career.
This was the second time the French luxury group – that owns 75 luxury brands including Dior, Fendi, Hublot, TAG Heuer, Zenith and Louis Vuitton – courted a jewellery brand in the decade, having acquired a majority stake in Italian luxury house Bulgari in 2011, in a $5.2 billion deal.
A New Script For Hollywood
Disney created history in March this year when it closed a mammoth $71.3 billion to purchase Fox.
With the closure of one of the biggest media mergers ever, Disney now owns all the film and TV properties of Fox – which basically means everything made by 20th Century Fox.
The deal didn’t just change their fortunes but also reshaped Hollywood’s landscape, with Disney and Fox together commanding 35 per cent of the movie market.
The acquisition also brought to Disney, Fox’s 30 per cent shares in streaming platform Hulu. This move made Disney the majority owner in Hulu, as it already owned 30% stakes of the streaming platform prior to the merger with Fox.
