You're right, I don't. But at this point, it seems like gluttony. Eating for the sake of eating. Sure they'll gain some value out of the team and their insights into email, but is their contribution going to be more so within Google than outside of it?
At $10 a license I'm going to guess that the Sparrow guys weren't rolling in Ferrarri's and Brazillian models.
It's quite possible that this was actually a way for them to continue doing something they love (coding) without financial stress hanging over their heads.