From Yahoo-Microsoft To Twitter-Facebook: 10 Big Mergers That Didn't Go Through

Millions of dollars, and in some cases even billions of dollars. That's how much some tech companies had rejected when approached for a merger/acquisition in the last decade or so.

From Yahoo, Microsoft, Whtsapp, Google, Twitter to Facebook, the list involves a lot of big names that were given no as an answer despite offering millions of dollars for a deal. Curious to know?

Read on as we unfold the list of some of the biggest tech mergers that got rejected.

1) Yahoo! rejected $44.6 billion offer from Microsoft (2008)

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In 2008, Google was on the rise, and there was nothing anyone could do about it. In a last ditch effort, Microsoft reportedly rushed to defend against a Google global takeover by offering to buy Yahoo! for $44.6 billion. Yahoo! co-founder Jerry Yang felt the offer by was too low and rejected Microsoft¡¯s bid of $44.6 billion. Unfortunately, after the rejection, Yahoo! stock plummeted, Yang left the company, and Microsoft moved on.

2) Snapchat rejected $3 billion offer from Facebook (2013)

Snapchat had rejected a $3billion buyout offer from Facebook a decade ago in November 2013.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the all-cash offer came as other investors were valuing the loss making two-year-old company at over $4billion. It was said that Evan Spiegel, Snapchat¡¯s co-founder was at that time waiting until early next year (i.e. 2014) before considering any offers in the hope that Snapchat¡¯s numbers will grow enough to justify an even larger valuation.

And this was not Facebook's first offer. It had reportedly offered $1billion for Snapchat earlier that year, which too was rejected.

3) Whatsapp rejected $1 billion offer from Google (2013)

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The news world was abuzz in April 2013 with reports of Google being in the final stages of buying Whatsapp for $1 billion. Google had approached WhatsApp with an odd offer- It would pay Whatsapp in exchange for the right to be notified if the messaging app entered into acquisition talks with other companies.

WhatsApp rejected Google's offer, which could have been worth millions of dollars, as per The Information report. A number of months and a quick 11-day negotiation later, WhatsApp and its 450 million active monthly users ended up in the hands of Google¡¯s arch rival

Also Read: Disney CEO May Sell The Company To Apple, Claims Firm's Insider

4) Groupon rejected $6 billion offer from Google (2010)

In 2010, Google was seeking to tap into local markets of the mom-and-pop variety in order to bolster profits. Naturally, Google shifted its focus to American global e-commerce giant Groupon, whose network had spread through North America, Latin America, and Europe.

At that time, the company was gathering more than $1 billion in annual revenue. Google offered Groupon a $6 billion buyout, and Groupon CEO Andrew Mason rejected the offer, as per American media firm Mental Floss' report.

5) Facebook rejected $1 billion offer from Yahoo! (2006)

In Facebook's early days, Mark Zuckerberg was reportedly in negotiations with MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe about a Facebook buyout. When Zuckerberg insisted on an asking price of $75 million, DeWolfe backed out.

Then early in 2006, Viacom offered to buy Facebook for $750 million, but this time Zuckerberg raised his asking price to $2 billion, and Viacom backed out of the deal.

Later that year, Yahoo! entered the picture and reportedly made an offer of $1 billion to Facebook. But again, Zuckerberg eventually rejected the Yahoo! offer and instead, Facebook made a deal with tech giant Microsoft to acquire the company¡¯s Atlas Solutions, an ad-serving product Microsoft purchased in 2007.

6) Twitter rejected $500 million offer from Facebook (2008)

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In 2008, Twitter¡¯s popularity was rising, and Facebook quickly jumped at the chance to buy the social networking company. But Twitter reportedly rejected Facebook's offer for two reasons. First, Facebook¡¯s offer was an all-stock offer, and Twitter wanted cash.

Second, Twitter had high hopes for a secret revenue model that they hoped to launch in 2009. Focusing on these two reasons, Facebook's offer was rejected by Twitter in 2008.

7) Rovio rejected $2.25 billion offer from Zynga (2011)

Given the huge level of popularity that web games like FarmVille and CityVille had in 2011-2012, American video gaming developer Zynga was on the hunt for the next big thing in social games. Zynga reportedly offered more than $2 billion to Rovio Entertainment, the Finnish company behind the Angry Birds game. But Rovio rejected the offer, and wanted to move ahead with its plans to evolve into a major media house.

8) Foursquare rejected $200 million offer from Yahoo! (2010)

In 2010, Foursquare was at the forefront of social networking and one of the first sites that existed entirely on a mobile platform, as per the report. Both Facebook and Yahoo! are believed to have offered Foursquare CEO Dennis Crowley buyout offers, but Foursquare Crowley rejected both in favor of a higher asking price.

9) Friendster rejected $30 million offer from Google (2003)

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Founded in 2002, California based social network game Friendster got an offer from Google in 2003 for $30 million.

At that time, as per the report, many advised Friendster to reject the offer and wait for internet stardom. Hence, it rejected Google's offer for a stardom that eventually never came and Friendster ended up becoming an iconic case of failure.

10) Qwiki rejected $150 million offer from Google (2010)

Another one in the list is another rejection that tech giant Google faced. In 2010, New York City based automated video production company Qwiki caught the eye of Google, which offered to buy the startup for $150 million. Qwiki believed their company was worth a lot more and hence decided to reject the offer. Later, Yahoo! bought Qwiki for $50 million in 2013.

Also Read: PVR's Shareholders Approve Merger With Rival INOX

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