Is that how you think it works? Rather, large companies have this nasty habit of bleeding their acquisitions dry and then quietly closing their doors a year or two later.
My post was meant as humour, in reply to Stardock CEO Frogboy's affirmation that his company was not for sale. I was implying, with a not too serious irony, that if EA or Microsoft made them "an offer they couldn't refuse", he and his business associates would sell Stardock for lots of millions that they could put in their personal bank accounts (which is always the privilege, in our capitalistic system, of entrepreneurs and owners).
But I will respect your reply and take it seriously. Allow me to pick up the ball where you left it.
Suppose a company, such as Stardock, has reached a level of success where it generates a lot of revenues and profits, and disposes of high-quality corporate resources. Suppose that a large corporation, such as Microsoft or EA, buys it for many millions of dollars.
I then do not quite understand what you are implying. Why would a corporation pay a small fortune to acquire a very successful company, and then run it into the ground ?
I would accept your argument when it is the case of a relatively small "development studio" : as you are implying, there are some examples of that having happened.
But Stardock is way beyond that modest level. If Microsoft or EA would acquire it, it would cost a lot of millions, and it would not then be in the larger corporation's interest to "bleed it dry". The latter would have to at least recoup its big investment, and if the acquired company is very successful, it would be better to let it continue to do what it does best, to generate even more profits.
