FINANCE
ACQUISITIONS OF TECH startups have always been pricey . Facebook ’ s acquisition of Whatsapp — a cross-platform mobile messaging app — cost the social media giant $ 19 billion . As companies grow into corporations , it ’ s fairly common for them to pick up small startups or startups that have just kicked off business . The one requirement ? The startup must have a great idea .
Running a company isn ’ t always a startup founder ’ s goal , and funding is often a problem . While I ’ m not suggesting that startups market themselves as acquisition bait , being acquired by a larger company is not a bad thing and can help eliminate the stress of finding your next round of funding .
Telstra and Facebook ’ s Path to Acquisition Earlier this year , Australia ’ s own Telstra acquired IdeaObject , an Indian startup that builds software . The company has been present in the Asia Pacific for a few years , focusing on cloud products that allow hospitals to manage their information . So why is Australia ’ s largest telecommunications and media company snapping up a company
Telstra recently acquired a cloud-ba expand geographically and grow its
focused on helping healthcare ?
Telstra Health , that ’ s why . The healthcare arm of the business — launched in October of 2014 — is interested in connecting patients , healthcare workers , hospitals , pharmacies and health funds so there is a more convenient way to manage health . For large companies , it is often cheaper to buy a startup or smaller brand specialising in the field in which it is looking to invest rather than
24 April 2015