With Yahoo Edgecast fully acquired, Edgio promises the fastest web applications on the planet running on its global edge network
In March, Limelight Networks announced plans to acquire Yahoo Edgecast. The company signed a definitive agreement to acquire Yahoo’s Edgecast business unit in an all-stock transaction valued at about $300 million. The new company would be called Edgio, it announced at the time. Limelight is now Edgio, and it said this week that it’s hitting the $40 billion addressable edge computing market with what it describes as “the world’s best performing edge platform with the most complete set of capabilities for web applications, APIs and video content.”
Edgecast was Yahoo’s content delivery and streaming video platform, popular for its self-provisioning capabilities. Edgecast was created in 2006, funded by an investment from Walt Disney Co.’s Steamboat Ventures. The business changed hands to Verizon in 2013. Verizon Digital Media Services rebranded back to Edgecast in 2021, following a majority acquisition by Apollo Global Management.
Operating as Edgio, the platform delivers about 20% of the world’s internet traffic, according to the company, acting as a content delivery network (CDN) for websites that require instant loading capabilities to high-demand content from leading streaming services. The business counts entertainment brands including Fox, BBC, Marvel, and NTT Docomo as customers. Edgecast/Edgio provides CDN, as well as serverless computing, and streaming delivery services.
For CEO Bob Lyons at the time the transaction was announced in March, acquiring Edgecast was about reaching a broader market.
“In six short months we have taken our Total Addressable Market (TAM) from $12 billion to $40 billion and with the acquisition of Edgecast, we are further accelerating and solidifying our ability to be recognized as a leader in edge software solutions for the outcome buyer,” said Lyons.
Edgio said that it’s “board of directors will be reshaped to better align with the needs of a growth-oriented, profitable and globally-scaled technology company.” New to the board are Reed Rayman and E-Fei Wang from Apollo and Dianne Ledingham.
Yahoo gets 80.8 million shares of Limelight common stock, valuing Edgecast at approximately $300 million based on the 30-day trailing VWAP of approximately $4.12. The purchase price included a $30 million cash investment into Edgio by Apollo and its co-investors. There’s another $100 million on the line for Yahoo if Edgio meets share-price targets by the closing’s third anniversary. Edgio stockholders own approximately 66.8% of the combined company.
Edgio shares dropped Thursday following the announcement.
