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| Details |
Case Code: CLBS134
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| Case Length: 06 Pages |
| Period: -- |
| Pub Date: 2013 |
| Teaching Note: Not Available |
| Subject :Business Strategy |
| Price:Rs.100 |
| Organization :-- |
| Industry :Information Technology |
| Countries : -- |
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Yahoo! Acquires Rockmelt |
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| The case is about the acquisition of a browser company Rockmelt by US-based software company Yahoo in 2013. Yahoo acquired more than 20 companies in 2012-13 under the talent building strategy of CEO Marissa Mayer. The case discusses the main reasons for such acquisitions and the benefits drawn by both the companies (acquired and the acquiring). |
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Issues: |
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- Understand acquisition as a growth strategy.
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- Analyze the benefits achieved by the acquirer and the target company.
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- Evaluate acquisition as a strategy to face competition.
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| Introduction |
| On August 2, 2013, US-based Internet Corporation Yahoo! Inc. (Yahoo) acquired US-based social browsing startup Rockmelt, for a reported US$ 60–70 million. The amount was paid largely in cash along with some stock incentives to the employees of Rockmelt. Analysts were of the view that the acquisition would bolster Yahoo’s mobile and social networking efforts. Yahoo, headquartered in California, was founded by Jerry Yang and David Filo in 1994 . It was widely known for its web portal, search engine Yahoo! Search, and related services that included Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, video sharing, social media sharing, etc. It grew rapidly throughout the 1990s. In 2004, it developed its own search technologies and in 2007 and revamped its mail service to compete with Google’s Gmail. Carol Bartz became the CEO of the company in 2009 . And in July 2012, Marissa Mayer (Mayer) was appointed as the President and CEO of Yahoo... |
| Questions for Discussion: |
1. What kind of outcome could the aggressive acquisitions of Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer lead to?
2. How did the deal benefit Rockmelt?
3. What was Yahoo!’s underlying strategy for such acquisitions?
4. Do you think the spate of acquisitions will help Yahoo! compete with the likes of Google and Facebook? |
Keywords |
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Yahoo, Rockmelt, Browser, acquisition, Mobile apps, Social Networking
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