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Companies bought for a fortune that then flopped

Business buys that ended in disaster
New York Central and Pennsylvania Railroad: 1962
New York Central and Pennsylvania Railroad: 1962
Sony and Columbia Pictures: 1989
Sony and Columbia Pictures: 1989
Quaker Oats and Snapple: 1994
Snapple
BMW and Rover: 1994
BMW and Rover: 1994
Mattel and The Learning Company: 1998
Mattel and The Learning Company: 1998
Daimler-Benz and Chrysler: 1998
Daimler-Benz and Chrysler: 1998
Yahoo! and broadcast.com: 1999
Yahoo! and broadcast.com: 1999
Deutsche Bank and Bankers Trust: 1999
Deutsche Bank and Bankers Trust: 1999
Yahoo! and GeoCities: 1999
Yahoo! and GeoCities: 1999
AOL and Time Warner: 2000
AOL and Time Warner: 2000
Terra Networks and Lycos: 2000
Terra Networks and Lycos: 2000
Cisco and Linksys: 2003
Cisco and Linksys: 2003
eBay and Skype: 2005
eBay and Skype: 2005
News Corp and Myspace: 2005
News Corp and Myspace: 2005
Sprint and Nextel: 2005
Sprint and Nextel: 2005
Kmart and Sears: 2005
Kmart and Sears: 2005
Toshiba and Westinghouse Electric: 2006
Toshiba and Westinghouse Electric: 2006
Alcatel and Lucent: 2006
Alcatel and Lucent: 2006
Bank of America and Merrill Lynch: 2008
Bank of America and Merrill Lynch: 2008
Bank of America and Countrywide Financial: 2008
Bank of America and Countrywide Financial: 2008
Arby's and Wendy's: 2008
Arby's and Wendy's: 2008
AOL and Bebo: 2008
AOL and Bebo: 2008
Cisco and Pure Digital: 2009
Cisco and Pure Digital: 2009
Google and Motorola: 2011
Google and Motorola: 2011
Hewlett-Packard and Autonomy: 2011
Hewlett-Packard and Autonomy: 2011
Zynga and OMGPOP: 2012
Zynga and OMGPOP: 2012
Caterpillar and ERA: 2012
Caterpillar and ERA: 2012
Yahoo! and Tumblr: 2013
Yahoo! and Tumblr: 2013
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ANDREW COWIE/AFP via Getty Images

Business buys that ended in disaster

While buying up other companies is a great way for big businesses to increase their market share and diversify their offerings, many are doomed to fail. From iconic brands enticed by rising stars to culture clashes that caused the loss of millions, click or scroll through the most famous failed corporate acquisitions and mergers of all time.
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lovemoney staff

05 February 2021

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