Google Inc.
(
GOOG
) announced that it has acquired Quickoffice for an undisclosed
amount. Plano, Texas-based Quickoffice makes mobile productivity
software for consumers and businesses.
Quickoffice software is used for editing, viewing and creating
Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents on Android, iOS, and
Symbian mobile devices. The company has its software installation
in over 300 million devices worldwide in more than 180
countries.
Though Google is a market leader in online advertising, it has
been trying to explore the mobile space and compete with
Microsoft
(
MSFT
) and others by offering its own suite of Office-like programs that
are accessible on the Internet. A few applications like Google Docs
are free of cost, while some sophisticated versions, called Google
Apps, are sold in subscription packages costing $50 annually per
user.
By bringing the Quickoffice superior software to its own Apps
product suite, Google will be better positioned to compete against
Microsoft and others in the mobile space. The deal will increase
the number of business users, particularly the corporate tablet
users, most of whom rely on
Apple Inc.
's (
AAPL
) iPad and could easily become iCloud-dependent.
This is Google's second purchase specifically related to
Microsoft Office interoperability. In March 2010, Google bought
DocVerse, a start-up that makes software for cloud-based
collaboration in Microsoft Office applications. In fact, the
Internet search engine is on an acquisition spree.
This week, Google acquired the popular chat service Meebo for
around $100 million. Very recently, Google closed its acquisition
of cell phone maker
Motorola Mobility Holdings, Inc.
(
MMI
) for $12.5 billion ($40 a share). In 2011, Google bought at least
26 companies.
Google has done very well in the first quarter, with its gross
revenue touching a record $10.65 billion. Revenues from both
Google-owned and partner sites continued to grow double digits on a
year-over-year basis. Historically, Google has always fared better
than
Yahoo Inc
(
YHOO
), which has been struggling to uphold itself, and Microsoft, which
has yet to gain critical mass.
However, other legal entanglements related to competitive
matters or patent infringements remain an overhang, keeping the
Zacks Rank on Google shares at #3, which translates into a
short-term Hold recommendation.
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