Limelight Appeals Ruling: Will It Be Acquired Shortly?

Limelight (LLNW) has announced it will appeal Friday's ruling . By so doing, it gets a stay on the injunction ruling until the appeal can at least be heard. So for the mean time, it will be business as usual for Limelight and they won't be forced to shut down.

That being said, discussions are underway about Limelight being acquired by a larger player in the space who would then fight Akamai (AKAM) in court over the ruling. Limelight does not have a lot of resources to fight such a ruling, nor an extensive patent portfolio, so they are limited in what they can do.

While rumors have been circulating about Limelight being acquired by Microsoft (MSFT), I am predicting it would be AT&T (T) or Level 3 (LVLT). Talks are intensifying about the acquisition and I put the chance at over 50%.

Comments

[Mike Armstr...:]

Limelight Has Little Chance of Overturning Judgment
In an appeal, an appellant (one who lost in lower court and now brings appeal to higher court) cannot dispute the facts found by the jury. The only element of the trial which the appellant can appeal is an error of law that was applied in his case or an error made by the judge in some material (significant) respect. Unless something grossly unfair transpired in the courtroom, Limelight does not have a good case for appeal. The legal team can still file an appellate brief and bluster to its client that they'll overturn the judgment handed down by the trial court. It makes the client feel better in the short run, but eventually he must swallow the bitter pill of losing. My feeling is the Akamai lawyers are well-trained in litigation (arguing a case in court) and probably did not leave any loopholes for the opposition to take advantage of. My general conclusion: it is likely that Akamai will prevail and the appellate court will affirm the trial court's decision. Just my 2 cents' worth.

2008 Mar 03 06:16 PM

[Jonha's Pop:]

If there is a buyout, I'll be the first to say Dan's a genius. However I suspect that Mr. Armstrong is a lot closer to the truth.

2008 Mar 05 04:43 PM