This is the second time in the last few weeks I’ve seen a minuscule startup call their acquisition by a tech giant ‘a partnership’. First time was WhatsApp’s acquisition by Facebook. Now it’s Oculus’s acquisition by…erm…Facebook. Hmmm:
our hardware and software will get even more open, and Facebook is onboard with that … The partnership … means a better Oculus Rift with fewer compromises even faster than we anticipated.
To quote Investopedia:
A merger involves the mutual decision of two companies to combine and become one entity; it can be seen as a decision made by two “equals”.
A takeover, or acquisition, on the other hand, is characterized by the purchase of a smaller company by a much larger one. This combination of “unequals” can produce the same benefits as a merger, but it does not necessarily have to be a mutual decision.
To call these mergers is just word-play to placate unhappy users and investors. They are in no way equal entities. It doesn’t fool anyone.
Why Oculus’s $2bn sale to Facebook sparks fury from Kickstarter funders | Technology | The Guardian