Ericsson this week announced it has agreed to acquire TV software provider Envivio for US$125 million in cash, bolstering the Swedish kit maker’s video compression and multiscreen capabilities.
Founded in 2000, U.S.-based Envivio specialises in software-based video encoding and processing. It boasts more than 400 TV provider customers including Comcast, Liberty Global, Sky, Telstra, and Time Warner Cable, among others.
In 2014 the company generated revenue of $43 million.
"Viewers are demanding TV on their terms on any device, and expecting experiences that continually evolve," said Per Borgklint, SVP and head of Ericsson’s support solutions unit, in a statement on Thursday.
Indeed, the recently-published Ericsson ConsumerLab TV & Media Report found that 35% of all TV and video content is now consumed on demand, and 61% of consumers watch video on a mobile device.
"We are committed to offering our customers a clear path towards fully agile cloud agnostic platforms that delight TV consumers," Borgklint said.
"The combination [of Ericsson and Envivio] will strengthen our encoding position with both custom silicon and pure software encoding, delivering performance and flexibility," he added.
The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter.
News of the acquisition was announced the day after Ericsson revealed it has been chosen to integrate DirecTV’s and AT&T’s TV platforms.
"Combining these technologies together uniquely positions AT&T to offer consumers an unparalleled bundled video entertainment, mobile and broadband experience," said Enrique Rodriguez, CTO of AT&T’s entertainment and Internet services division, on Wednesday.
