Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) announced today that it is acquiring privately-held content delivery firm EdgeCast. The terms of the deal were not released, but several sources were reporting the deal to be in the $350 million range.
EdgeCast is a seven-year-old concern that already has 6,000 accounts and serves sites such as Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr and Hulu. “We deliver more than four trillion digital items a month to almost every Internet user in the world,” Alex Kazerani, EdgeCast’s chairman and CEO, said at a press conference earlier this summer.
Analysts point out that Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) is apparently paying a premium price for EdgeCast, but the deal will give Verizon access to EdgeCast’s big-name content delivery network clients while also significantly extending its reach in the Internet media sector.
Strengthens Verizon Communications Internet media presence
This deal is clearly another big move in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s unfolding Internet media strategy. VZ also acquired upLynk — a TV and cloud content provider — just a few weeks ago
“The combination of EdgeCast and Verizon Digital Media Services will allow us to fully exploit and accelerate growth in Internet media consumption and online business performance,” Bob Toohey, president of Verizon Digital Media Services, said in a press release Monday morning. “EdgeCast’s industry-leading technology and strategically placed assets, combined with Verizon Digital Media Services’ video solutions, improves our ability to deliver the rich, reliable and quality digital media services that our customers have come to expect.”
Deal to close in 2014
According to the press release, the boards of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) and EdgeCast have already approved the deal. The acquisition of EdgeCast is scheduled to be finalized in Q1 2014.
