Synacor

Synacor Inc.
FormerlyChek.com, MyPersonal
Company typePrivate (since 2021)
Public (2012-21)
Nasdaq: SYNC (2012-21)
IndustryTechnology
Founded1998; 26 years ago (1998) in Buffalo, New York, U.S.
FounderGeorge Chamoun, Darren Ascone
Headquarters
Buffalo, New York
,
U.S.
Key people
  • Drake Harvey (CEO)
RevenueIncrease US$127.4 million[1] (2016)
Number of employees
449[2] (2016)
Websitesynacor.com
cloudid.io
zimbra.com

Synacor Inc. is a technology and services company headquartered in Buffalo, New York. It provides email and collaboration tools through Zimbra, and TV Everywhere authentication and identity management services through Cloud ID. In addition to Buffalo, the company has offices in London, Pune, Singapore, and Tokyo.[3]

History

[edit]

In January 1998, George Chamoun and Darren Ascone, roommates at the University of Buffalo, founded Chek.com, a Buffalo-based email infrastructure provider.[4][5] It started as an affinity-branded free email provider, allowing users to create an email account at domains like Budweiser.com and Yankeesfan.net. Additionally, Chek.com provided a Business E-Communications product, allowing companies to outsource their email hosting to Chek.com, providing an outlet for businesses to maintain email and intranet systems internally. The stated aim of the outsourced email product was to allow smaller companies to present a professional image similar to larger, established companies.[6][better source needed]

Chek.com was an early adopter of the LAMP technology stack and was a major supporter of the growing PHP community; Chek.com (and later, Synacor) hosted the official PHP website for a number of years prior to it being mirrored.[6] [7]

In 2000, Chek.com merged with MyPersonal, a San Francisco-based portal provider, to become Synacor. After the merger, Synacor started offering an extended set of products geared towards ISPs, cable companies, and telecommunications. Synacor began by hosting emails; the first such ISP was Kmart. The new agreement would provide BlueLight ISP customers with access to a 'mybluelight'-branded portal and web-based email hosted by Synacor.[8]

In 2003, Synacor began to offer services to small and mid-size ISPs which allowed them to provide premium online content, similar to offerings by Yahoo at the time. Synacor claimed to manage complexities such as registration, rights management, and billing that customers experienced while operating their service.[9] This technology eventually became Synacor's TV Everywhere product line.[10] This technology also led Synacor to help shape the standards for Home-Based authentication through its long-standing participation in the Open Authentication Technology Committee (OATC) and Cable and Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM).[11] Furthermore, Synacor's TV Everywhere authentication product helped contribute to Apple's SSO.[12]

Synacor had originally filed an IPO in 2007 with Deutsche Bank and Bear Stearns as underwriters; however, it withdrew from filing in October 2008.[13] A successful IPO was filed in November 2011 and priced at the beginning of 2012.[14] Synacor became a public company (Nasdaq: SYNC) with an initial public offering (IPO) of $5.00 per share.[14] Ron Frankel, the Synacor CEO since 2001, stepped down in 2014.[15]

In 2015, Synacor acquired Zimbra, an open source email, calendaring, and collaboration software suite.[16] In the same year, Synacor acquired NimbleTV.[17] In 2016 Synacor acquired Technorati to help build their advertising business.[18] Also in 2016, Synacor displaced Yahoo! as the portal provider for AT&T[19] and subsequently lost this business back to Yahoo! three years later in 2019. Synacor also provides authentication for HBO Go.[20] In February of 2020, Synacor announced a merger with the Minnesota-based Qumu Corporation. As a part of the all-stock deal, Synacor shareholders would have held a 64% ownership of the merged entity, while Qumu investors would have held 36%.[21] In June of 2020, the board of directors of both companies mutually agreed to terminate the merger prior to execution.[22]

The company was taken private by investment company Centre Lane Partners in 2021 and delisted from the Nasdaq Global Market.[23] In July 2021 iMedia Brands acquired Synacor's portal and advertising business.[24] In November 2022 Synacor relocated its Buffalo headquarters from the Waterfront Village to HANSA Workspace.[25]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS from Synacor Form 10-K, Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2016". sec.gov. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. December 31, 2016. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  2. ^ "Synacor Form 10-K, Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2016". sec.gov. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. December 31, 2016. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  3. ^ "Synacor Inc. - Contact Us". synacor.com. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
  4. ^ Miner, Dan. "Synacor founder George Chamoun will leave company later this year". Buffalo Business First. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  5. ^ "Chek.com WHOIS, DNS, & Domain Info". DomainTools. Retrieved July 17, 2017. Creation Date: 1997-12-05T05:00:00Z
  6. ^ a b "Success@Chek.com; E-mail Idea Started in College Students' Basement Evolves Into One of the Top". PR Newswire Association. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  7. ^ "PHP: Thanks". The PHP Group. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  8. ^ "Former Chek.com gets blue-light special". Buffalo Business First. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  9. ^ Ali, Rafat. "Synacor to Re-sell Online Multi-Media". Gigaom. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  10. ^ Swisher, Kara. "Synacor to Offer TV Everywhere Authentication Via Social ID". AllThingsD. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  11. ^ Phatak, Anand; Hoggan, Stuart; Rosenberg, Peter; Ace, Timothy; Brinkmann, Brian (2016). "Authentication and Authorization Interface 1.1 Specification". CableLabs. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  12. ^ Roettgers, Janko. "Apple TV Single Sign-In Not Supported by Every TV Operator". Variety. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  13. ^ "Synacor Cancels IPO". PE Hub. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  14. ^ a b "SYNACOR, INC. (SYNC) IPO". Nasdaq. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  15. ^ Baumgartner, Jeff (2014-08-27). "Ron Frankel Resigns from Synacor Board". Broadcasting Cable. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
  16. ^ Nicastro, Dom. "Zimbra Acquired Again, This Time by Synacor". CMSWire.com. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  17. ^ Spangler, Todd. "Synacor Acquires NimbleTV, Startup That Streamed Live TV Online". Variety. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  18. ^ "Synacor Acquires Technorati For $3 Million To Expand Its Ad Business". AdExchanger. 2016-02-23. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
  19. ^ Holm, Erik. "Synacor Soars After Swiping AT&T Contract from Yahoo". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  20. ^ Baumgartner, Jeff. "Synacor Nets HBO Go Authentication Deal". Multichannel. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  21. ^ "Synacor, looking for growth, agrees to a merger". The Buffalo News. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
  22. ^ "Synacor and Qumu Announce Mutual Termination of Merger Agreement". Business Wire. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  23. ^ "Centre Lane Partners Successfully Completes Tender Offer for Shares of Synacor" (Press release). Synacor. Business Wire. March 31, 2021.
  24. ^ Inc, Imedia Brands (2021-08-03). "iMedia Announces Accretive Acquisition of Synacor's Portal & Advertising Business Segment". GlobeNewswire News Room (Press release). Retrieved 2023-01-11. {{cite press release}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  25. ^ "Synacor relocates Buffalo HQ from Waterfront Village". Buffalo Business First. Retrieved 2023-01-09.
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