Business Takeovers (2) - Google

GOOGLE TAKES OVER YOUTUBE

A $1.65bn takeover from Google.

YouTube founders were were attracted by the prospect of adding Google's cutting-edge search technology to enable users to pinpoint clips more accurately.

YouTube accounts for 60% of all videos viewed on the net.

SUCCESS OR FAILURE?

Not everybody was convinced of the logic of the takeover.

Critics of YouTube maintain that the site is full of unauthorised clips from music videos, films and television programs.

Some analysts have suggested that the only reason it has not attracted many lawsuits to date is that everybody knows it has little money to pay out.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

When Google took over YouTube there were a lot of job losses.

But, sometimes these takeovers could lead to disappointing results. 

This however produces lower unit costs, higher profit levels and increased market share.