(19 October 2005 3:00 pm)

MUMBAI: UK-based Tandberg Television has announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire US based GoldPocket Interactive, Inc. (GPI) for a total consideration of $78.5 million. GPI provides open-standards interactive television technology, solutions and systems.

Under the terms of the agreement, Tandberg Television will acquire privately-held GPI for a mix of cash and Tandberg Television shares. The transaction is expected to close in December 2005, states an official release.

The combined resources of the two companies will broaden Tandberg Television's market offering and enable it to continue to build its high margin software business. Earlier this year, Tandberg Television completed the acquisition of N2 Broadband, North America's leading provider of open platform on-demand solutions. With today's announcement, the combined company is strongly positioned to lead the new television era by providing network operators with the highest quality digital TV solutions including HDTV, video on demand, advertising on-demand, IPTV, and interactive TV applications, all of which are designed to maximize consumer appeal and generate increased return on network investment, the release adds.

The acquisition propels Tandberg Television up the media value chain and extends the company's position as a revenue generating partner to operators, content owners and advertisers, as well as a key provider of digital infrastructure technologies for the critical network delivery phase.

"The acquisition of GoldPocket will enable us to significantly expand our presence within existing and new customers. We already have numerous common customers with GPI in the North American market, such as DIRECTV, FOX, NBC, News Corporation and Time Warner. Our traditional relationships are with engineering/technology management who make critical decisions regarding network architectures. The addition of GPI's interactive technology and tools will bring us into the content core where we can assist our customers in deploying interactive applications that have a direct impact on their revenues and consumer appeal," says Tandberg Television president & CEO Eric Cooney.