For video software provider KIT digital Inc., acquiring privately-held ioko365 Ltd. was the culmination of a competitive three year process, said KIT chairman and CEO Kaleil Isaza Tuzman on a conference call this morning.

“With some of the larger companies that were out there and [their] interest in ioko, if it became an open bidding process we might not have come away as the winner,” he added.

Ioko, which specializes in multi-screen video technology, signed a definitive agreement to be acquired by New York-based KIT on Monday, April 11, for $91.4 million.

The price tag is comprised of $74 million in cash and about 1.5 million restricted shares of KIT common stock at $11.51 each.

“There was a competitive dynamic around the asset,” Isaza Tuzman said. “[It’s] something we’ve been looking to do for quite some time.”

With ioko, KIT will take on a slate of high-profile clients. The target is known for implementing video technology in some of the most well known corporate suites including AT&T Inc., Walt Disney Co., Molson Coors Brewers Co., British Sky Broadcasting Group and Electronic Arts Inc.

Its latest goal as a video delivery platform is to monetize its services onto the iPad and various tablet devices that are growing in popularity. 

London-based Ioko has roughly 380 employees and contractors, with offices in San Diego, Sydney and Malaga, Spain.

KIT is seeking financial advice from Peter Blackwood and Andrew Kurz of Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, and expects to finalize the transaction by May 2011.

The official announcement was originally slated for last December when KIT completed a $110.4 million public offering and set the proceeds aside in order to fund acquisitions, Isaza Tuzman said.

Since then, it clearly kept its promise. This particular deal with ioko follows last month’s purchase of Polymedia from Italian owner TXT eSolutions for $34.4 million. In January, KIT spent $77.2 million on three companies: New York-based KickApps, Paris-based Kewego and San Francisco-based Kyte.

In September, KIT acquired privately-held Brickbox Digital Media s.r.o., based in Prague, Czech Republic. Earlier that month, it scooped up Accela Communications Inc., based in Southborough, Mass., and Megahertz Broadcast Systems Ltd., based in Ely, U.K. Terms of each deal were not announced.

It purchased Atlanta-based Multicast Media Technologies Inc. for $18 million in March, followed by Singapore-based Benchmark Broadcast Systems Pte. Ltd. for $9.5 million in May.

Nasdaq-listed KIT trades as KITD with a market cap of about $445.8 million.