Limelight Networks completes Edgecast acquisition to become Edgio

CDN service provider Limelight Networks has completed the acquisition of Yahoo-owned Edgecast, with the merged company to operate under the banner of Edgio.

The all-stock transaction was initially announced in March, with Edgecast valued at approximately US$300 million. Yahoo will own 31.9% of the new company via 80.8 million shares of Limelight common stock and appoint three directors to the board. 

Bob Lyons, CEO of Limelight Networks, will serve as CEO of Edgio.

Edgio said that the merger will present synergies of greater than US$50 million, including approximately US$30-35 million of COGs related to colocation and internet peering expenses, and approximately US$15-20 million of operating expense savings. It expects to achieve  approximately half of the US$50 million in synergies in the first two quarters after closing.

Lyons said: “In a world where digital workloads and their consumers are increasingly distributed, the ability for companies to deliver exceptional digital experiences requires them to more productively build faster and safer solutions for their customers at the edge. Today marks a meaningful step in our ability to address this need. 

“Edgio now boasts the most complete edge-native web application and API solution, best-in-class streaming and delivery capabilities – all running on the world’s most performant globally-scaled edge network. These unique capabilities create a robust platform for growth and profitability.”