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1. In 2005, Google acquired Android which was an unknown mobile startup company for $50 million. However, the acquisition gave Google the tools it needed to compete in a market dominated by Microsoft and Apple and Google is more than familiar with acquisitions of this kind, but this deal is seen as one of the most successful. This is because 47% of U.S. smartphone owners use a Google Android device as of May 2020.

What do you think it will take for Google to overtake Apple in the smartphone market?

2. There are several ways acquisitions can assist an organization with gaining market power. Acquisitions make it possible to increase resources and add capabilities while decreasing overall costs and gaining additional value chain control. Horizontal acquisitions involve purchasing a company within the same industry. An organization will use a horizontal acquisition to exploit revenue-based and cost-based synergies which will result in increased market power (Hitt et al., 2017). When a company purchases one of its suppliers or distributors this is known as a vertical acquisition. Vertical acquisitions lead to an increase in market power through the newly created organizations gain of control within additional value chain activities/sectors (Hitt et al., 2017). A related acquisition means a firm has been purchased by another one within a closely related industry. The integrating of key resources and capabilities can assist with gaining market power when a related acquisition is formed (Hitt et al., 2017). Walt Disney Company (DIS) is a multinational corporation that has utilized multiple types of acquisitions to gain market power. Johnston (2021) asserts that Acquisitions are a major vehicle of growth for Disneyand have been over the past three decades (Johnston, 2021, para. 3). Pixar Animation Studios, 21st Century Fox (TFCF Corp.), Lucasfilm Ltd, and Marvel Entertainment are all companies that Disney has acquired through the years. The acquisitions have amplified Disneys capabilities and competitive advantage by increasing innovation, broadening its entertainment scope, as well as establishing it as a global media conglomerate (Johnston, 2021).