Akamai Acquires Cotendo for $268 Million

Content delivery market leader Akamai Technologies has signed a definitive agreement to acquire rival Cotendo in a deal that would boost Akamai's offerings for new content services. The announcement follows weeks of rumors that Akamai was close to a deal to acquire Cotendo.

Cotendo offers an integrated suite of Web and mobile acceleration services, and has emerged as one of the more nimble players in the evolving market for content services. Akamai said the combination of the two companies' technologies will increase the pace of its innovation in the areas of cloud and mobile optimization.

"As we look to accelerate growth across the dynamic landscapes of cloud and mobile optimization, we are excited to be joining forces with Cotendo," said Paul Sagan, president and CEO of Akamai. "Cotendo's technology, partnerships and people are a strong complement to Akamai. Together, we believe there is tremendous opportunity for our combined technologies as enterprises embrace the move to the cloud and seek solutions for an increasingly mobile world."

"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, CEO and co-founder of Cotendo.

Akamai (AKAM) has often expanded through acquisitions of competitors, including Nine Systems, Netli and Velocitude. Under terms of the agreement, Akamai will pay $268 million in cash to acquire all of the outstanding equity of Cotendo. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2012.

Founded in 2008, Cotendo is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif. with a technology center in Israel. Cotendo currently has approximately 100 employees, with over 50 based in Israel.