CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and SUNNYVALE, Calif., Dec. 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM) and Cotendo announced today that the two companies have signed a definitive agreement for Akamai to acquire Cotendo.

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Helping to mitigate the challenges of operating in a hyperconnected world, Akamai provides a secure platform over which businesses can engage users across the Web, mobile, cloud, or a mix of public and private network environments.  Cotendo offers an integrated suite of Web and mobile acceleration services.  The combination of the two companies' technologies and teams 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.  "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." 

"The Cotendo team is very proud of our accomplishments in delivering proven and effective solutions for accelerating Web and mobile assets.  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.  "We look forward to working with Akamai in an effort to create the strongest offering in the industry."

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

Under terms of the agreement, Akamai 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 assumption of outstanding unvested options to purchase Cotendo common stock.  The closing of the transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, is expected to occur in the first half of 2012.

About Cotendo

A fast growing innovator of cloud-based acceleration technologies, Cotendo offers an integrated suite of Web and Mobile Acceleration Services from its global distributed points of presence (POPs).  Cotendo's single platform software was built from the ground-up and includes acceleration services for dynamic web applications, static and dynamic web content, SSL, Advanced DNS, Adaptive Image Compression, performance monitoring and automatic failover as well as real-time reports and analytics.  Cotendo also offers a distributed cloud application environment called Cloudlet™ that allows decision-making (logic, data) at the edge, closest to the end users.  Cotendo's customer base includes Fortune 500 enterprises, Tier 1 telecommunications providers and the world's largest social networks, eCommerce sites, and advertising networks.  For more information about Cotendo and its Web and Mobile Acceleration Services Suite, visit www.cotendo.com  

About Akamai

Akamai® is the leading cloud platform for helping enterprises provide secure, high-performing user experiences on any device, anywhere.  At the core of the Company's solutions is the Akamai Intelligent Platform™ providing extensive reach, coupled with unmatched reliability, security, visibility and expertise.  Akamai removes the complexities of connecting the increasingly mobile world, supporting 24/7 consumer demand, and enabling enterprises to securely leverage the cloud.  To learn more about how Akamai is accelerating the pace of innovation in a hyperconnected world, please visit www.akamai.com and follow @Akamai on Twitter.

The release contains information about future expectations, plans and prospects of Akamai's management that constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements about the anticipated closing of the acquisition, the expectations with respect to the combination of the Cotendo and Akamai technologies and the expected future business and financial performance of Akamai resulting from and following the acquisition.  Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors including, but not limited to, inability to successfully combine the technologies of Cotendo and Akamai, inability to successfully integrate Cotendo into the business of Akamai, material adverse changes in the financial conditions or operations of Cotendo, substantial delay in the expected closing of the proposed merger, inability to secure all regulatory approvals necessary to effect the proposed merger and other factors that are discussed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and other documents periodically filed with the SEC.

SOURCE Akamai Technologies, Inc.