Verisign Sells CDN Service Kontiki To MK Capital

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Rafat Ali

paidContent.org
Saturday, May 3, 2008; 2:07 AM

As has been expected for a while, Verisign has sold off its content delivery service Kontiki to MK Capital, a VC firm which invested in the P2P company prior to its sale we have learned and confirmed through sources. Verisign bought Kontiki in 2006, for around $62 million, but this time around, the sale price is much lower than that.

Verisign announced in November last year that it planned to shed non-core assets, including communications, billing and commerce though the fate of its CDN service remained unclear. Now, after trying to find strategic buyer and failing at it, the current Kontiki management started looking for management-backed buyout options, and that's how its previous investor MK came into the picture.

The buyer was first reported by Contentinople here yesterday, which also reported that Kontiki is taking with it about 40 employees in the U.S. and the U.K. Eric Armstrong, former VP of sales, media, and entertainment at Verisign, is taking over as president.

MK Capital recently invested in digital production and management studio Generate.

Verisign Acquires Broadband Video Firm Kontiki For $62 Million; Forms VeriSign Broadband Content Services VeriSign Selling CDN/Kontiki Service; Question is To Whom