Cisco said today that it intends to pay $5 billion for its latest acquisition. This time, the international networking equipment seller is making a bid for NDS Group, a provider of content streaming and security software. On Thursday, Cisco announced plans to acquire the company as part of Cisco’s goal of expanding its next-generation video services.
The acquisition of NDS will complement and accelerate the delivery of Videoscape, Cisco’s comprehensive platform that enables service providers and media companies to deliver next-generation entertainment experiences.
Based in England, NDS presently has about 5,000 employees across five countries. NDS chairman, Abe Peled, will remain with the outfit and become a senior vice president and chief strategist for Cisco’s “video and collaboration group.”
“Cisco and NDS are helping drive the transition that will enable service providers and media companies to offer new revenue-generating video experiences,” Peled says. “NDS’s open software video platform and services are highly complementary to Cisco technology, and together we are uniquely positioned to enable service providers to deliver fresh and exciting multi-screen video services to their customers.”
John Chambers, Chairman and CEO of Cisco, shares that excitement.
“Our strategy has always been driven by customer need and on capturing market transitions,” Chambers admits. “Our acquisition of NDS fits squarely into this strategy, enabling content and service providers to deliver new video solutions that leverage the cloud and drive new monetization opportunities and service differentiation.”
