Billion Dollar Buyout: The Biggest Tech Acquisitions of Recent Years

Verizon buys AOL for $4.4 billion.

Apple Acquires Beats Music & Electronics - Aiming to regain its once-titan grip on the music business, Apple recently announced the company’s purchase of Beats Music and Electronics for $3 billion. Co-founders Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine will work closely with Apple. (Photos from left: Andrew Burton/Getty Images, Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Facebook Acquires Oculus - Facebook sparked yet another headline frenzy in March 2014 once the public learned of its $2 billion purchase of the virtual-reality technology Oculus VR.(Photo: ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images)
Facebook Acquires WhatsApp - The Oculus acquisition is not the first nor largest acquisition that Facebook has made. In February 2014, the social network bought mobile messaging service WhatsApp for $19 billion — the second biggest tech acquisition ever. They also bought Instagram for $1.1 billion in 2012.(Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Microsoft Acquires Nokia - In September 2013, Microsoft announced that it would buy Nokia's Device & Services business for over $7 billion. The deal was expected to close in the first quarter of this year, but Microsoft recently announced a delay until April.(Photos: Microsoft, Nokia)Google Acquires Motorola  - Search engine giant Google locked down a deal with Motorola in May 2012, purchasing the cellphone maker Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion. Then, in January 2014, Google dumped the asset for $2.91 billion.(Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

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Facebook Acquires Oculus - Facebook sparked yet another headline frenzy in March 2014 once the public learned of its $2 billion purchase of the virtual-reality technology Oculus VR.(Photo: ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images)

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