Tron Completes Bittorrent Acquisition after Several Fits and Starts

TRON has finally concluded its protracted takeover of fallen peer-to-peer giant BitTorrent.

An announcement  on the official BitTorrent website revealed that BitTorrent will now operate from the new TRON San Francisco office, which will now host the company’s global expansion efforts.

An excerpt from the announcement reads:

“We are excited to announce that TRON has officially closed its acquisition of BitTorrent. BitTorrent has more than 100 million active users worldwide, and has one of the top-rated apps on Google Play and other products, including BitTorrent Play (iOS), uTorrent Web, and desktop clients for PC and Mac. The division will provide robust support for TRON’s global business development and partnerships, while pursuing its vision for the world’s largest decentralized ecosystem.”

Will They, Won’t They

CCN.com earlier reported that the deal meandered through several twists and turns involving speculation, broken agreements and a lawsuit filed by TRON founder Justin Sun against BitTorrent, which change its name to Rainberry in the course of one of several failed rebranding efforts.

According to reports, the saga began Sun sending a Letter of Intent to acquire Rainberry. This letter had a “no shop” clause inserted into it, which meant that for the duration of the letter’s validity, Rainberry was not allowed to discuss with any other potential investors or negotiate any other takeover deals.

Rainberry apparently violated the clause, leading Sun to sue the company for breach of agreement. Surprisingly to market observers, Sun registered a company called “Rainberry Acquisition Inc.” on the same day the Letter of Intent expired.

In what seemed like a move against all odds, Rainberry Acquisition Inc. and Rainberry Inc. eventually filed for a merger with the California Secretary of State, which was the strongest indication to date that the two companies had successfully merged. Little word has come out about the deal until today’s announcement, which will doubtless come as a huge boost for TRON as it embarks on its mission to construct a decentralized internet.

What’s In It For Both Parties

With this move, TRON has finally got its hands on its most prized target – BitTorrent’s proprietary peer-to-peer technology. While this technology initially gained prominence for media file sharing which has since slumped heavily in popularity, it provides a key piece of the puzzle for TRON to build out its idea of a completely decentralized internet based on peer-to-peer connections.

BitTorrent, on the other hand, finally gets a way out of a nightmare death spiral that has seen it launch failed enterprise after failed enterprise while hemorrhaging money and talent. For the over 100 million people around the world that still use BitTorrent, there is also the chance to enhance its services by joining the TRON network and exploring the possibilities of decentralized communication beyond illegal file sharing.

Featured image from Shutterstock.