Ooyola to be acquired by Telstra

An agreement has been defined between Telstraand Ooyola. As per the agreement in next 2 months Telstra is all set to acquire Ooyola with an investment of US$270mn. This will increase Telstra share of ownership from 23% (fully diluted) to 98% and is in addition to the US$61 mn previously invested in Ooyala over the past two years.

After the acquisition Ooyola will become a subsidiary of Telstra and will operate as an independent business under the leadership of its existing management team led by chief executive officer Jay Fulcher. The company will retain the Ooyala brand and will continue to be headquartered in Silicon Valley.

David Thodey, chief executive officer, Telstra, said, "This provides an opportunity for Telstra and Ooyala to establish a consolidated leading global company to deliver platforms and services on which the next generation of TV and video will be built."

The investment makes Ooyala one of the best-capitalized and most comprehensive video and analytics technology companies in the world. It is the culmination of a successful, long-standing investment and business relationship between Ooyala and Telstra. As one of the world's largest telecommunications companies, with deep expertise in the digital media space, Telstra can provide the necessary and ongoing investments and business relationships to build on Ooyala's leadership in personalized video.

The acquisition has come as a strategy by Global Applications and Platforms (GAP) with an objective to create long-term global growth in markets that are adjacent to Telstra's core business, where software disrupts traditional business models.