Google gobbles up confab-over-IP firm GIPS for $68m

Pauses briefly to pick teeth and look round for more

Google has bought a Swedish VoIP company called Global IP Solutions - which is traded on the Oslo Stock Exchange.

The deal values GIPS at $68.2m. Google is offering $2.12 per share in cash - 24 per cent more than the shares have been selling for on average over the last three months.

GIPS provides software for voice and video conferencing and unified communications.

Google said the purchase reflected the growing importance of real-time voice and video communication.

Customers include Yahoo!, Nortel Networks, Samsung, Baidu and Brasil Telecom.

The deal has already been approved by GIPS' board of directors, and owners of more than half the shares have also signalled their acceptance of the buyout. The deal is not expected to require regulatory approval in any territory.

GIPS is run from San Francisco with offices in Boston, Stockholm and Hong Kong. ®