Friday, 7 September 2007

TANDBERG to Purchase Codian

Visual communication provider TANDBERG has confirmed that it will be acquiring Codian, a developer of high-definition videoconferencing infrastructure products, for USD 270 million.

The deal, which is expected to be sealed by third quarter 2007, expects Codian’s R&D sales teams to give TANDBERG access to additional resources for accelerating technology innovation and capturing current opportunities within core markets — videoconferencing and telepresence — as well as targeting new opportunities in the broader IP communications marketplace.

As a part of TANDBERG's total solution, Codian's infrastructure products will provide customers a robust platform for large scale deployments of high-definition videoconferencing systems. The joint solution will greatly improve video quality and ease-of-use for multi-party conferences, enhancing customer experience and increasing meeting productivity.

"Customers are increasingly making video the natural, first choice for communication, which in turn is driving the demand for highly reliable and scalable solutions," said TANDBERG Chief Executive Officer Fredrik Halvorsen.

"Adding Codian's talented R&D and sales teams, as well as best-in-class infrastructure products to our total solution, will position TANDBERG to capture current market momentum and pursue a leadership role in the larger IP communications marketplace."

"Our employees will be joining forces with the technology leader in the visual communication space, and this acquisition will provide Codian customers with access to a complete solution for visual communication. We believe the combined offering will expand the market and bring new revenue opportunities for our channel partners," said Codian Chief Executive Officer David Holloway.

Founded in 2002 and headquartered in the United Kingdom, Codian is a privately held company with service and support in the United States, Europe and Asia, with a total of 107 employees. For the first six months of 2007, Codian posted un-audited revenues of approximately USD 13 million.