Akamai seizes Cotendo for US$268m

Akamai Technologies is set to buy cloud based technology provider Cotendo for $US268 million, with the transaction expected to be closed in the first half of 2012.

Akamai's tenth acquisition since it was founded in 1998, Cotendo specialises in web and mobile acceleration services from a network of 30 global distributed points of presence (POPs) including Australia. The latest deal is its second largest since it bought InterVU in 2000, which was estimated to be worth $US2.8 billion.

Cotendo is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California but has a technology center in Israel. With around 150 employees, 50 of which are based in Israel, the company anticipates that there will be no change to staffing levels after the transaction

“By combining our innovative technology and employees with Akamai, we expect our customers and partners will gain access to a comprehensive, global platform and wider portfolio of leading-edge services supported by some of the most experienced providers in the industry,” said Ronni Zehavi, chief executive officer and co-founder of Cotendo.

Akamai said that Cotendo’s technology, partnerships and people were strong complements to the company.

The companies have had a history of slightly too much complementary behaviour with Akamai filing a patent infringement lawsuit against Cotendo less than a year ago.

Akamai also had a patent suit launched against Speedera Networks before buying the company for $US130 million in 2005. ®