Tech Partnerships: Hits, Misses and Too Soon to Tell

This week, Microsoft surprised many by announcing that it will be investing in a newly-formed Barnes & Noble division that will include the Nook e-reader and the company’s college businesses.

Price: $300 million for 17.6 percent of the new Barnes & Noble digital division.

TOO SOON TO TELL: It’s very early, but the potential for a win-win is high. The companies need each other to compete against Apple and Amazon in the popular tablet and e-reader space. Microsoft gives B&N money, global reach and software. B&N gives Microsoft established content, hardware and a retail presence.

In August 2011, Google announced it was acquiring Motorola Mobility, the mobile devices division of Motorola. The buy will allow Google to own its smartphone hardware and also claim Motorola’s many patents.

Price: $12.5 billion

TOO SOON TO TELL: The acquisition has been approved by the U.S. DOJ and the EU so it’s definitely going to happen. On one hand, Motorola’s patents will fortify Google in its Android patent battles with Microsoft, Oracle and Apple. But Motorola’s actual mobile devices have not been selling well and face increasingly stiff competition from Apple, Samsung and HTC.

After getting bounced around from eBay to private investors, Skype was picked up by Microsoft in May of 2011 for a cool $8.5 billion. Microsoft hopes to integrate Skype into a variety of its products such as Lync, Windows Phone, Outlook and Xbox.

Price: $8.5 billion

TOO SOON TO TELL: Microsoft has gained both US and European regulatory approval for its Skype acquisition, but the company has been mum on how it plans to incorporate Skype voice and video features into the Microsoft portfolio. And many believe Microsoft overpaid. Nevertheless, Skype should be a game-changer for Microsoft if integrated well.

Adobe nabbed Web metrics leader Omniture in 2009 to make it easier for businesses to gauge the value of content – be it video, Web pages or mobile and social media content – from creation to measurement to monetization.

Price $1.8 billion

A HIT: This merger hasn’t completely found its footing, but by uniting Omniture’s data analytics technology with Adobe’s content creation software, the deal gives advertisers, media companies and retailers more insight into the metrics of their digital assets and how to make money from those assets.

In 2005 when Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. bought MySpace owner Intermix Media, it seemed like a great idea. MySpace was a hot social media site that could drive traffic to all the sites in Murdoch’s media empire.

Price: $580 million

A MISS: Myspace basically stopped innovating once it became just another property in the Murdoch domain. Meanwhile, Facebook exploded as the only social media site that mattered. In 2011, News Corp. sold off Myspace for just $35 million to ad company Specific Media.