Akamai buys rival cloud service Cotendo for $268M

The cloud computing giant Akamai Technologies thins competition by acquiring Cotendo tech, talent

The enterprise cloud platform company Akamai Technologies announced Wednesday that it would buy Cotendo for $268 million in cash.

The Cambridge-based Akamai provides a secure platform over which businesses to use across the Web, mobile, cloud, or a mix of public and private network environments -- similar to its, then, rival Cotendo which offers an integrated suite of Web and mobile acceleration services.  

As the two tech companies combine their teams, Akamai is expected to increase the pace of 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, in a statement.  "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." 

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

Akamai stated  that it will acquire all of the outstanding equity of Cotendo in exchange for a net cash payment of approximately $268 million, after expected purchase price adjustments -- plus the outstanding unvested options to purchase Cotendo common stock.  

The final acquisition is expected in the first half of 2012.

Since 2008, Cotendo has raised more than $36 million in funding from investors such as Sequoia Capital, Benchmark Capital and Tenaya Capital.

A few months ago, Cotendo raised $17 million in new funding from its previous backers, with Citrix Systems and Juniper Networks joining the round. 

Last year the two companies were in the early stages of litigation when Akamai filed a patent infingement claim against Cotendo -- a move, that many said, showed the growing competitiveness Cotendo was having in the mobile and cloud realm.

Cotendo's customer base includes Vistaprint, Facebook and Zynga.  

"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, in a statement. 

Image Source -- Cloudtechsite.com