Google is buying Oslo-listed Global IP Solutions for $68 million to build its real-time audio and video Internet capabilities, the two companies said in a joint statement on Tuesday.

The friendly all-cash transaction values GIPS shares at 13 Norwegian crowns each, up 27.5 percent from Friday's closing price of 10.20 crowns. Norwegian markets were closed on Monday.

The Web is evolving quickly as a development platform, and real-time video and audio communication over the Internet are becoming important new tools for users, Rian Liebenberg, Google's Engineering Director, said in a statement.

The GIPS board recommended shareholders accept the offer and shareholders representing about half of the outstanding shares and votes in GIPS, including Kistefos Venture Capital AS and Kistefos Venture Capital II DA, have irrevocably committed to accept the offer, Google said.

There is a good industrial rationale for the deal based on Google's increased efforts in communication on its web solutions, GIPS board chief and CEO of Kistefos Venture Capital, Ditlev de Vibe, told Reuters. The price offered by Google is very good and the board can safely recommend it.

Oslo-listed, San Francisco-based Global IP Solutions says it is a leader in voice and video processing technology for IP networks, with software in over 800 million end-points.

GIPS enables service providers, developers and hardware manufacturers to reduce network impairments such as delay, jitter and echo in real-time audio and video applications.

The offer price represents a premium of 54.6 percent compared to the adjusted volume weighted average market price for the last three months before the announcement, Google said.

Shares in GIPS were up 26.5 percent to 12.9 crowns at 0845 GMT on a slightly stronger Oslo bourse.

The offer will be fully funded by Google's existing cash resources and the transaction is not currently expected to require approval from any competition authorities, Google said.

Its completion is subject to approval from the owners of 90 percent of GIPS shares or a waiver of the requirement by Google.

(Reporting by Joachim Dagenborg and Wojciech Moskwa; Editing by Mike Nesbit)

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