IBM buys Ustream for US$130m; Toshiba to sell chip business; Apple lobbies EU over tax probe

IBM has acquired Ustream, a provider of cloud-based live video streaming services, in a deal reported to be worth between US$130 million and US$150 million.

Ustream provides cloud-based video streaming services to enterprises and broadcasters. Its customers include NASA, Samsung and Facebook. According to IBM, Ustream streams live and on-demand video to about 80 million viewers per month.

Ustream will join the newly formed IBM Cloud Video Services unit, which will be led by Braxton Jarratt. This new video unit will target what IBM reckons is a US$105 billion opportunity in cloud-based video services and software.

“Through this latest acquisition and the creation of a new cloud business unit, IBM will provide an end-to-end suite of digital video solutions for the first time under one roof,” Jarratt said. “As a result, clients will be able to take advantage of every stage of the video life cycle through advances in customisation, digital access, visual analytics and more, all to enable the consistent delivery of video content globally.”

The unit will also draw on assets and technologies from other IBM investments including Clearleap, Aspera and Cleversafe.

IBM is combining these elements to create a cloud platform that it says will enable clients to “easily ingest, store and manage live and on-demand videos, enhance them through analytics, apply rights management and language capabilities, and distribute them consistently across the globe”.

“Video has become a first-class data type in business that requires accelerated performance and powerful analytics that allows clients to extract meaningful insights,” said Robert LeBlanc, senior vice president, IBM Cloud.

“Aligning our expansive video and cloud innovations into an integrated unit will create opportunities for clients to take advantage of this medium in the most strategic way possible,” LeBlanc said.

IBM did not disclose the financial terms of the Ustream acquisition. However, Fortune reported that unnamed sources had indicated that the transaction included around US$130 million in cash, and the deal was worth up to US$150 million in total.

Toshiba to sell chip business

Toshiba is reportedly planning to sell part of its chip business in the wake of the accounting scandal that came to light last year.

The story comes from Reuters, which cited three unnamed people familiar with the matter as sources.

According to the story, Toshiba has already started accepting bids. The Development Bank of Japan is said to have shown early interest.

According to Reuters, Toshiba is looking at selling businesses that handle system LSI and discrete chips. Toshiba’s mainstay NAND flash memory operations are reportedly not part of the sale.

Toshiba reportedly told Reuters that it hasn’t made a decision on the sale of its chip operations.

And according to a Nikkei report, in an attempt to return to profitability, Toshiba is planning to begin mass production of 3D NAND flash memory by March, and is considering lay-offs at a hard drive factory in the Philippines.

Cook pays EU commissioner a visit

Apple is lobbying the European Union over an investigation into its tax-paying practices, according to several news reports.

The Financial Times reported that Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook made a surprise visit to Brussels last week in order to lobby the European Union’s antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager, who will soon rule on a case that could force Apple to pay billions in underpaid taxes.

According to the FT story, although a spokesperson for Vestager confirmed a private meeting took place with Cook, both Vestager’s spokesperson and Apple declined to comment on what transpired at that meeting.

Bloomberg also reported that Cook met with Vestager. According to that report, the EU’s investigation could force Apple to pay more than US$8 billion in back taxes.