Monopolies in the Market: Who Owns Who

Did you know that there are only a few companies in the market?
It’s become more prevalent that a big company owns several large or small companies.
For example, did you know that Facebook is the owner of Instagram and WhatsApp? Or that LinkedIn, Skype, MSN, and Bing were sold to Microsoft?
And, before Skype became a part of Microsoft, eBay bought it.
The most recent acquirement was Apple buying Shazam in December 2017.
The market seems to be shrinking since the acquisitions and buyouts leave only a few parent companies. In addition, all the companies seem interconnected and related to each other.
Since it’s hard to keep track of which company owns who, I’ll focus on TripAdvisor and Expedia two travel websites and apps.

TripAdvisor’s Backstory

Stephen Kaufer, Langly Steinert, and a few others founded TripAdvisor in February 2000.
Originally, it was intended to hone in on the words from legitimate travel guidebooks, magazines, and even newspapers. The founders did install a button that said, “Visitors Add Your Review” which propelled the website forward.
Now, the website and app is a hub for user generated reviews to be posted about various places across the globe.

TripAdvisor’s Acquisitions

Since 2007, TripAdvisor has bought sixteen different travel-related companies.
A few of their most recent acquisitions include

  • Dimmi (May 2015) - An Australian start-up business
  • Couverts (October 2016) - A Dutch restaurant reservation website
  • Lens (January 2015) - A Dutch restaurant review website and service

All of these companies are intertwined and complement each other’s services.

Expedia’s Backstory

Expedia started off similarly to TripAdvisor as a single entity. Its purpose was to help consumers compare prices for different travel components
Its extensive search engine compares prices for hotels, flights, cars, and vacation packages.

Expedia’s Acquisitions

Since March 2000 Expedia has acquired fifteen different travel-related companies.
A few of their most recent acquisitions include

  • Homeaway (November 2015) - An American company specializing in rental services.
  • Orbitz (September 2015) - An American travel agency.
  • Travelocity (January 2015) - An American travel agency.

Just like TripAdvisor’s acquisitions, Expedia obtained ones with similar and complementary services to its own. All the companies begin to work together and form a monopoly.
After reviewing the information on TripAdvisor and Expedia, it’s clear that there are fewer companies in the market than you realize. Each brand eagerly wants to expand their empire across their chosen industry.
These aren’t the only brands that acquire other companies.
Take a look at the infographic and discover what how other companies are creating a monopoly in their industry.

https://www.16best.net/blog/the-web-world-who-owns-who/