"in a very real sense the stock was free for the company itself" Stock always has value, especially to management. Unless the company has poor self-esteem. :)

"in a very real sense the stock was free for the company itself" Stock always has value, especially to management. Unless the company has poor self-esteem. :) The reason so many technology companies today make acquisitions using stock is because they (correctly) understand their stock to be inflated, relative to intrinsic value. If that were not the case, if they understood their stock to be undervalued, then they would definitely not be giving it away in transactions. They would be making all-cash offers instead.