Google Acquisitions “Paying Off Huge”–Except for the Ones That Aren’t

Say what you will about Google’s acquisition strategy, the company has made some wise wagers over the past few years. Sure, its M&A department has thrown away a fair bit of money on some regrettable investments, but it’s pulled off some killer deals as well. And those are “paying off huge,” says VP of Corporate Development David Lawee.

“How much do you think we would sell Android for today?” Lawee recently asked Reuters. “I would argue it would be in the billions and billions of dollars, it’s worth a lot of money. The same of YouTube.”

Of course those are just two acquisitions out of the 80 or so that Google’s made since 2001. Which is not to say that there isn’t another Android or YouTube on that list, just that “paying off huge” isn’t the way one would describe Google’s purchase of, say, Jaiku or DodgeBall or the five percent equity stake it took in AOL (AOL).

But obviously the threat of a clunker investment or two isn’t going to temper Google’s aggressive acquisition strategy. Back in January, CEO Eric Schmidt predicted the company would make one acquisition a month. With a little over three months left in the year, Google (GOOG) has made 23, nearly double Schmidt’s forecast.