Verizon is indeed going to acquire EdgeCast Networks, a content delivery network that has ground to be one of the fastest growing Internet companies in the world from a startup founded in 2008. TechCrunch’s Ryan Lawler reported the deal was in the works on Sunday, and a new press release from Verizon confirms the deal is int he works, with a projected finalization date sometime in early 2014.
In its official release, Verizon makes no mention of the price attached to the deal, but TechCrunch has heard from a source with knowledge of the deal that it will be worth in excess of $350 million – a good return for EdgeCast investors which has around $74 million raised in funding.
EdgeCast brings with it a profitable business and a client base of over 6,000 customers, including Twitter, Pitnerest and Hulu to name just a few. Bringing those partners into Verizon’s enterprise business has benefits both in terms of shoring up its bottom line on that front, and in terms of giving it access to a number of potential high-profile targets to help it upsell them on its other corporate services as well.
Verizon even alludes to the fact that it’s building an end-to-end Internet and digital media services play, and this marks the most significant and independent attempt it has made so far to become a provider of CDN tech on its own, rather than as a reseller for other corporate partners.
