

Ask PG: Do you get companies wanting to acquire Y Combinator itself? - badclient

And how do you typically respond?
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pg
No; investment firms don't get acquired.

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te_platt
Do you mean that sort of thing just isn't done? Or there are legal/other
reasons why it can't be done?

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alain94040
YC is likely in the same situation as a famous Hollywood studio: you can buy
the buildings and the logo, but once the people leave, the value is gone. So
there is nothing worth acquiring.

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_delirium
But famous Hollywood studios do get acquired, making that an odd analogy. For
example, Pixar was first part of Lucasfilm, then sold to Steve Jobs, then sold
on again to Disney, and still seems to be doing well.

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philwelch
Importantly, the people went with it.

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TamDenholm
An alternative question: Does Y Combinator ever consider fully acquiring one
of its companies? Surely there must be a few companies directly relevant to
your business that you could acquire?

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Zak
YC has hired and/or made partners of founders of companies it invested in.
That seems more in line with its goals than buying companies.

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pitdesi
PG said a couple of days ago "I never considered what I'd do if someone wanted
to buy YC, because companies like YC aren't buyable. But even if someone
wanted to buy it I could not imagine selling it, because I don't need the
money and it wouldn't be worth the risk that the acquirer would ruin it."

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3178173>

