#3 Fast Search & Transfer

Purchased for: $1.2 billion

Date: April 25, 2008

Fast Search & Transfer was a Norwegian focused on data search technologies. Microsoft acquired FAST, which is now known as Microsoft Development Center Norway. FAST offered an enterprise search product, FAST ESP. ESP is a service-oriented architecture development platform which is geared towards production searchable indexes.   Fast also offered a number of search-derivative applications, focused on specific search use cases, including publishing, market intelligence and mobile search.

Despite the lack of competitors, Microsoft saw apparent value in the market in 2008 when it purchased Fast Search & Transfer for $1.2 billion. While the Norwegian firm was charged with accounting fraud and raided by the police after the Microsoft acquisition for improperly reported revenue years earlier, the company's technology has bolstered the success of Microsoft's SharePoint collaboration platform.

Verdict: Hit.

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