MSNBC.com, which is a joint venture (JV) between Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and GE (NYSE: GE), has been around for about 11 years. Interestingly enough, the JV hasn't struck any acquisitions – that is, until now.

MSNBC has agreed to buy social media site, Newsvine (the price tag was not disclosed).

In fact, Newsvine has only five employees and raised a mere $1.5 million in venture capital. Yet, the company certainly is efficient. After all, the growth has been strong and the website gets about 1 million unique visitors per month.

Then again, Newsvine leverages the power of its community. Users can vote and comment on articles, which creates lots of frequency and loyalty.

What's more, Newsvine will keep its identity, which is smart. It's often the case that a big organization can dampen innovation.

But, I'm sure we'll start seeing some cross pollination, such as placing Newsvine features on MSNBC.com.

And, if you want to check out other recent M&A transaction, click here.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.

As expected, General Electric Co. (NYSE:GE) Chief Executive Jeffrey Immelt is starting to open up the company's checkbook.

The company said earlier this morning that it would buy the aerospace business of Smiths Group Plc. for $4.8 billion. GE and Smiths also will combine their homeland security units in a joint venture, Smiths GE Protection, that will be 64 percent owned by Smiths and chaired by its CEO Keith Butler-Wheelhouse, Bloomberg News reported.

General Electric, which doesn't expect this acquisition to face the same opposition as the Honeywell International merger did in 2000, is planning to make $7 billion in non-financial mergers this year, Bloomberg said.

So what's next on General Electric's shopping list? How about a nice little industrial concern? What about a promising medical technology startup, or something to boost NBC Universal? The point for investors though isn't where GE spends its money as much as how it does it.

Long before the annoying NBC program became a hit, General Electric perfected the game "Deal or No Deal." The Fairfield, Conn., company doesn't overpay for acquisitions and looks for deals that compliment existing businesses.

--Jonathan Berr is the editor of http://www.desperateinvestors.com