Cisco Antes Up $5 Billion for NDS

Cisco announced its intent to acquire NDS Group, a provider of video software and content security solutions for multiscreen services, for approximately $5 billion, including the assumption of debt and retention-based incentives.The acquisition is intended to complement and accelerate the delivery of Cisco's Videoscape platform, as well as expanding Cisco's reach into emerging markets, such as China and India, where NDS has an established customer footprint.The acquisition has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies and is expected to close during the second half of 2012.