Motorola To Enhance On Demand Portfolio With Strategic Acquisition

[newsroom]

SCHAUMBURG - Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire BitBand, a leading provider of content management and delivery systems, specializing in video on demand for IPTV. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquisition, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close in Q4 2009. BitBand will be integrated into Motorola's Home & Networks Mobility business.

Based in Netanya, Israel, BitBand has more than 60 commercial IPTV deployments worldwide, including TELE2 (Holland), Fastweb (Italy), and Swyazinvest (Russia). The acquisition of BitBand will complement Motorola's existing on demand product line which includes the Adaptive Media Management framework for content management and high-performance streaming servers for centralized and edge-based on demand networks. BitBand brings products tailored for IP video and expertise in IPTV solutions, as well as solutions for Content Delivery Networks (CDN) and Over-the-Top video services. With the addition of BitBand's products, Motorola can offer comprehensive on demand solutions for customers worldwide, addressing a wide range of deployment scales, access networks, video formats and business models.

"Motorola is committed to investing in our video infrastructure solutions as our customers evolve their networks to handle the explosion in consumer demand for video," said John Burke, senior vice president and general manager, Broadband Home Solutions, part of the Motorola Home & Networks Mobility business. "BitBand has a leading share in IPTV video on demand and a strong base in Europe that we plan to leverage as we continue growing our infrastructure business in the EMEA region."

"We are proud to become part of a world-class organization through this acquisition. Our team and our customers will benefit from Motorola's leadership in video solutions and worldwide scale of operations," said Ervin Leibovici, CEO of BitBand. "BitBand will bring to Motorola its market leading CDN solutions, IP video expertise and strong customer relationships around the world, enabling Motorola to further strengthen its leadership position."