CDNetworks Gets $96M, Goes Shopping

South Korean content delivery company CDNetworks has received $96.5 million in private investment to fund its expansion into the US content delivery market. Venture capital firm Oak Investment Partners will lead the investment in CDNetworks, currently the leading CDN provider in Asia, with South Korea's Shinhan Private Equity and Goldman Sachs joining. The breakdown from Oak, Shinhan and Goldman is $43 million, $32 million and $21 million respectively, according to Paid Content.

The funding will be used to invest in data center infrastructure, or to acquire or partner with an existing CDN in the US market, according to comments by company officials. In an interview with Reuters, Steve Chung, CDNetworks' vice president of business development, said the company was considering various expansion measures, including acquisitions and capital spending.

CDNetworks believes there are "real opportunities for us to invest in great companies," Chung told Reuters, adding that the company has looked at opportunities in the Japan and China as well as the US. "I can't get into details," he added. "But we have all options open including M&A, strategic partnerships, capital expenditure and operational growth."

Chung said CDNetworks did not plan to use aggressive discounts for its U.S. expansion. Reuters said company officials have discussed social networking sites and security providers as growth markets in the American market.

As for acquisition opportunities, one service that is reportedly on the market is VeriSign's hybrid peer-to-peer CDN service based on the Kontiki platform.

CDNetworks ranks third worldwide in the CDN industry behind Akamai Technologies (AKAM) and Limelight Networks (LLNW), according to industry data.