Google acquires Global IP Solutions for $68.2M for real-time video and audio

Google said today it has agreed to buy Global IP Solutions Holding for the equivalent of $68.2 million in cash.

The acquisition, paid in Norwegian currency, is another move by Google into the real-time Internet as video and audio communication become more important for users, said Rian Liebenberg, engineering director at Google. The vision is to accelerate the shift to Web-based internet protocol communications, said Emerick Woods, chief executive of Global IP Solutions.

Global IP Solutions recently announced that it was enabling video chat on devices running the Android operating system made by Google. Global IP Solutions’ customers include WebEx, IBM, Yahoo, Samsung, Nortel and AOL. With Yahoo, Global IP Solution’s video engine powers Yahoo Messenger with Voice, which lets friends chat with each other using internet voice communications.

The offer price is a premium of 142.1 percent over the closing share price for publicly traded Global IP Solutions on Jan. 11 (the time when Global IP Solutions announced it was in talks with a potential buyer). It’s also a 27.5 percent premium over the company’s closing price on May 14 on the Oslo Stock Exchange.  The deal is subject to various conditions, including shareholder approval. (If this isn’t confusing enough, Global IP Solutions says its headquarters are in San Francisco, it has an office in Stockholm, and it is trading on the Oslo Stock Exchange).

[Homepage photo: tensafefrogs]