Google’s taking a nap: Not one buyout in four months despite 79 acquisitions in 2011

Google must be napping to reenergize for its upcoming Motorola Mobility acquisition, because it has not completed a single buyout in 2012 despite purchasing 79 companies last year.

Google filed its 10-K with the SEC in January that revealed the Mountain View, Calif.-based search engine spent $1.9 billion (including stock and cash) on 79 acquisitions in 2011. The more notable purchases were ITA Software for $676 million, and Apture, Katango, and Clever Sense. That means the Internet giant bought six to seven companies a month in 2011. In contrast, it obtained four companies a month in 2010 for a total 48 acquisitions worth $1 billion.

With that said, Google has not picked up a single company since Dec. 13, 2011—roughly four months since its last investment. If judging Google’s spending habits over the last two years, the firm should have already completed 16 to 28 buyouts in 2012 to bulk its portfolio of interests. The company still has time to flash its money, though, as it grabbed roughly 25 of those 2011 acquisitions after the year’s third quarter.

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A spokesperson confirmed to All Things D that Google has not procured one drop of tech firm since 2011. The publication then attributed the halted pace to CEO Larry Page focusing on key products versus Google’s plan of action by previous CEO, now-Chairman Eric Schmidt’s that included a dynamic investment mentality.

The most probable reason behind the four-month nap is likely Google’s vast spending on the $12.5-billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility. After all, that merger will cost six times more than the total amount Google spent in 2011. Therefore, the company’s extended Holiday break might just be an attempt to pull back on the reins for the remaining two-thirds of the year.

While this seems like the most practical reason, rumors are circulating that Google plans to entertain more acquisitions in the coming weeks. Of course, only time will tell. In the mean time, its large-scale buyout of Motorola will presumably close soon, and Google will have its hands full trying to manage the mammoth umbrella of assorted firms, services, and products it now bears.