Telstra has announced it will acquire Silicon Valley-based company Ooyala, a leader in video streaming and analytics.
The $US270 million ($A291m) investment increases Telstra’s ownership in Ooyala from 23% (fully diluted) to 98% and is in addition to the $US61 million previously invested in Ooyala over the past two years.
Telstra chief executive David Thodey says its investment and controlling stake in Ooyala would help build it into a world-leading personalised video platform company.
“Ooyala enables broadcasters, operators and media organisations to deliver digital TV and video content, across any device to mass audiences, using analytics to provide recommendations, personalised content and advertising to the end user,” Thodey says.
This is the first investment for the Global Applications & Platforms group, which aims to create long-term global growth in markets that are adjacent to Telstra’s core business, where software disrupts traditional business models.
“Ooyala is one of the industry’s fastest-growing personalised video platform companies. The company provides solutions for customers such as broadcasters, pay-TV operators and online media sites globally,” he says.
“Ooyala delivers a personalised video platform as an end-to-end cloud solution service, which saves customers high upfront investments in online video infrastructure and helps increase the return on their content. Our investment allows Ooyala to take their solution to the next level and thereby further accelerate its growth.”
As TV and video consumption continues to increase across multiple devices, the systems and platforms for managing, distributing and monetising these services will continue to evolve.
“This provides an opportunity for Telstra and Ooyala to establish a consolidated leading global company to deliver platforms and services on which the next generation of TV and video will be built,” Thodey says.
“Telstra‘s global customer relationships, our established presence in Asia and proven integration capabilities, combined with our expertise in online video and investment in Foxtel provide us a unique opportunity to succeed in this growth market.”
Ooyala chief executive Jay Fulcher will continue in his role and Ooyala will become a subsidiary of Telstra and operate as an independent business, retaining its brand, structure and management under the Global Applications and Platforms group.
Fulcher says Ooyala has worked closely with Telstra for two years and shared a vision of what is necessary to deliver the next generation of personalised cloud TV and video. Telstra’s acquisition validates both the scale of the global market opportunity and our data-centric strategy for helping our customers win as the industry transforms.
This transaction is subject to customary closing conditions including the receipt of US regulatory approvals and is expected to be completed in the next 60 days.
This article originally appeared on StartupSmart.
Kye began his career at a Fairfax daily on the North-West Coast of Tasmania. He has since taken his belongings, and keen interest in technology, to Melbourne. He has a bachelor of Arts majoring in Political Science from the University of Tasmania and a Graduate Diploma in Journalism from RMIT University.
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