Never witnessed it in person but I can see the appeal of hiring a team of people who hopefully have a degree of trust and cohesion over a fresh team of strangers. Downsides might be that the team has baggage or the team as a whole fails to integrate into the wider culture

It's not entirely uncommon to acquire a small company (2-15) as an acqui-hire. I've seen it work well, and I've seen it work poorly. It generally works well when the acquired product is entirely abandoned.

I don't know about recruiting, but I know of at least three groups I've worked with (at different companies) that have indeed migrated together

Easily the most effective people I've seen at any of the organizations. It's been interesting as an outsider to watch

edit: The peer comment from 'djtango' is on the mark in regards to fitting with the wider culture.

These groups are effective, but they also cause waves. It can be crazy when it's a unified team holding a position instead of newbies being steamrolled by status quo

> Does recruiting a whole team from another company actually works?

yes, it is called company acquisition

Buy a great team and kill the product.

Yep - aquihires :) it’s not always full company that moves though