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Commission approves Cisco’s NDS purchase

By  |  July 24, 2012

Cisco’s $5 billion purchase of TV software developer NDS received unconditional approval from the European Commission. Cisco reportedly acquired the company because of VideoGuard – a product installed via smartcard in set-top boxes that creates a secure connection from TV operator’s pay-TV services to other media devices. The European Commission stated the “merged entity would continue to face competition from a number of strong competitors.”

NDS is owned 51 percent by private equity fund Permira and 49 percent by News Corp and is used by European companies BSkyB and Sky Italia as well as North American companies Cablevision Systems Corp, Comcast Corp, and Rogers Communications Inc.

Full content: Reuters

 

Related content: The Middle Way on Applying Antitrust to Information Technology

 

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