Google’s Bargain Basement M&A Strategy

Our friends at Silicon Beat have done some good sleuthing and unearthed two previously undisclosed Google acquisitions. The company confirmed to Silicon Beat that it purchased Where2 and Zipdash in 2004, both companies of such obscurity that little is known about them.
Given its $49 billion market cap and plenty of cash on hand, Google’s frugality is striking: the acquired ventures have low profiles and low price tags. We were mulling this over earlier in the week, when Google acquired Urchin, another company you’ve probably never heard of.

Frugal Google
For now, we find this to be a very sensible approach for Google. A major acquisition would be a distraction, and as a company with famously little internal structure, we don’t think Google would know how to integrate a mature company with a traditional corporate infrastructure. The current strategy allows for quick integration and what amounts to outsourced R&D, on the cheap.
However, the big acquisitions will come - and Google will probably be ready. Our moles tell us the company is actively contemplating a more traditional corporate structure. But like its current acquisitions, expect this shift to happen below the radar.
Read: Google acquires traffic info start-up Zipdash - [siliconbeat.com]