In full economic crisis, the American tech industry can stick its chest out for having more money in its coffers that ever before. The three titans of the industry ? Apple, Google and Microsoft ? are sitting on a treasure worth some 161.3 billion dollars (112 billion euros).
The buying battle opened in May of last year when Microsoft purchased Skype for 8.5 billion dollars. But Google also took a big step forward when it acquired the mobile device builder Motorola Mobility for 12.5 billion dollars.
The question now is not whether or not there will be a buying war, but who is going to make the next move. Companies in the technology industry are racing to control the most brands. There are current speculations on the possible sale of Nokia. Microsoft, RIM (who makes Blackberry devices).
In principle, how much money is in the bank would not the issue, mostly because in the middle of financial chaos it is always difficult to get sufficient credit to enter the markets. But if there is no rush for big purchases, the treasuries could end up being a big problem.
