Six Head-Scratching Business Acquisitions

While the above acquisitions intuitively make a lot of sense, sometimes, companies make purchases that seem to be head scratchers, at least on the surface. The announcement earlier in the year that Delta Air Lines (DAL) acquired Trainer, a refinery formerly owned by Phillips 66 (PSX), immediately comes to mind. Why would an airline buy a refinery? Delta says the refinery will save it money since it now has a direct source for jet fuel, but many critics point out the company is far from achieving vertical integration with the deal.
 
Delta isn’t alone in making unusual acquisitions, of course. Here are some more buys and investments other public companies have made that have our eyebrows raised.