Nortel CFO Peter Currie's departure this week is being construed by analysts as a victory for CEO Mike Zafirovski, who favors remaking Nortel via acquisitions. Currie was reportedly against such a strategy.
So, with Currie gone, Light Reading reports that IPTV startups will be on the top of the Canadian company's shopping list. A Nortel purchase may not pack the punch it did seven years ago, but for venture capitalists looking to move on from legacy communications equipment investments, the price might still be right.
Possible Nortel targets include its existing IPTV partners:
Minerva - The IPTV middleware startup has raised more than $14 million from Cypress Ventures, US Venture Partners, EuroQube and Empire Capital.
Kasenna - The video server startup has raised $61 million since 2000 from Intel Capital, Key Ventures, AsiaTech Management, US Venture Partners, Alloy Ventures, OM Technology Investments Partnership, Artiman Ventures, CIR Ventures, and The Entrepreneurs’ Fund.
Irdeto Access - The content security and conditional access company is a subsidiary of Naspers, which is publicly traded.
BroadStream Communications - The content aggregation and delivery startup backed by Pioneer Ventures and Benaroya Capital is in the process of merging with Auroras Entertainment.
The executive shakeup at Nortel should encourage US Venture Partners, in particular, owing to its stakes in two of the four potential targets listed above.
Technorati tags: nortel, iptv, m&a, vc, venture+capital
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