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Microsoft has a spotty record with big acquisitions - here's a rundown

Matt WeinbergerJul 7, 2016, 21:13 IST

Steve Ballmer poses with a Nokia device running Windows Phone 8.Steven Lam/Getty Images

Microsoft has never shied away from gobbling up companies.

Most recently, that meant buying LinkedIn in a shocker of a $26.2 billion deal that also ranks as Microsoft's biggest ever. Before that, Microsoft made huge purchases in the form of Nokia, "Minecraft" developer Mojang, Skype, and lots of others.

Some of them added valuable new business software to Microsoft's portfolio. Some of them flamed out, big-time. At least once, a police raid was involved.

As we approach the one-year anniversary of Microsoft's $7.6 billion writedown on the Nokia mobile phone disaster, it's interesting to glance back and see what went right and what went wrong...