Williams Communications plans to invest $30 million in iBeam Broadcasting as part of a strategic alliance bewtween the two companies.
iBeam will use Williams Communications' international fiber-optic network and broadband services as the two companies develop new services targeted for the multimedia streaming market. Under the terms of the agreement, iBeam will issue and sell 2,400,939 shares of preferred stock for a total purchase price of $30 million in cash plus an in-kind contribution of services valued at $10 million from Williams Communications. The cash infusion is intended to fuel the creation of new webcasting services. These services will be based on Activecast, iBeam's interactive webcasting service, and a broad set of advanced streaming applications for ad insertion, media syndication, digital rights management, and pay-per-view. - Richard Tedesco
