70–90% of acquisitions fail. The tech is rarely why
70–90% of acquisitions fail, according to Harvard Business Review. Companies still spend more than $2 trillion a year on deals.
70–90% of acquisitions fail, according to Harvard Business Review. Companies still spend more than $2 trillion a year on deals.
Two tech deals show what decides which side you land on:
- HP paid $11.1B for Autonomy in 2011 and wrote down $8.8B within 13 months. The software worked. What failed was verification: HP says the problems surfaced only after an insider came forward, a year after close. Autonomy’s founder denied the allegations.
- Microsoft paid $26.2B for LinkedIn in 2016 and left the brand, the culture and the CEO alone. LinkedIn’s revenue went from $3.0B to roughly $17B by FY2025, about 5.7×.
Our view: verify before you sign. Then integrate at the speed the culture can absorb, not the speed the synergy model wants.
We advise buyers and founders on both sides of the table. Follow Significa for executive market intelligence.
Sources: Christensen et al., “The New M&A Playbook”, HBR, March 2011 · HP statement, 20 Nov 2012 · Microsoft Form 8-K, 13 Jun 2016 · Microsoft FY2025 Q4 report. The ≈$17B and 5.7× figures are our calculations.
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Abstract
70–90% of acquisitions fail, according to Harvard Business Review. Companies still spend more than $2 trillion a year on deals.
Our view: verify before you sign. Then integrate at the speed the culture can absorb, not the speed the synergy model wants.
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