Web content delivery network Akamai acquires rival Speedera

The two major web content delivery networks are coming together. Akamai Technologies Inc. will acquire Speedera Networks Inc. in a stock swap valued at approximately $130 million, Akamai announced today. Speedera stockholders will receive 12 million shares of Akamai stock. Akamai expects the deal to close in the second quarter.

Akamai says it expects the acquisition will give it the size to compete against larger managed services vendors. Akamai and Speedera provide businesses with a distributed platform for accessing web computing and capacity on demand worldwide without having to make significant upfront investments in infrastructure. The company also says the deal will provide customers with a broader suite of services.

The companies provide similar services in which customers use their distributed networks of servers to deliver web pages more quickly and efficiently to web site visitors. Akamai was founded in 1998, and Speedera in 1999.