Acquisition part of the company’s overall strategic growth plan, with investment targeted at the fastest-growing segment of the play-to-air market
SAN FRANCISCO & APELDOORN, Netherlands - Thursday, October 13th 2011 [ME NewsWire]
-(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Grass Valley™, the premier video technology solutions company, today announced that it has acquired PubliTronic, a privately-held, global provider of multichannel, integrated, automated playout solutions. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
PubliTronic, based in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands, began operations in 1997 by developing some of the earliest integrated playout solutions with a primary focus on the European market. Its systems have grown in sophistication, enabling them to span from small disaster recovery solutions to addressing the needs of large multichannel service providers. Its installed base of more than 800 on-air channels includes some of the largest service providers and broadcasters in Europe and around the world.
Integrated playout is one of the fastest-growing segments in broadcasting, expected to increase significantly over the next three years. With the economics of launching new channels changing dramatically, innovative approaches are needed to support this growing segment. Multichannel service providers in the cable, satellite, and telco sectors, as well as broadcasters adding secondary digital channels, can benefit from a multichannel, integrated, automated playout approach.
Grass Valley, together with its investors at Francisco Partners, see a large opportunity in this emerging segment, having targeted this area as part of the expansion strategy that it adopted after the company was acquired earlier this year by Francisco Partners. The expertise, experience, and support of Francisco Partners provides Grass Valley with the agility to make strategic acquisitions and investments when appropriate.
“When we decided to expand our playout offerings to include an integrated approach, we had a choice: do it on our own or invest through an acquisition,” said Alain Andreoli, President and Chief Executive Officer of Grass Valley. “As we learned more about PubliTronic’s technology and people, it became very clear that a combination of our talents and resources could allow us to offer innovative and compelling products to our customers quickly. This second acquisition this year after Evolution exemplifies our strategy of entering fast-growing, new segments to take full advantage of all opportunities, as it presented a key growth opportunity for the K2 server family and Grass Valley. What this acquisition brings to customers is much more than a simple ‘channel-in-a-box’ solution. Our next-generation K2 Edge™ server is a sophisticated and very powerful multichannel, integrated, automated playout system that delivers benefits to our customers from day one.”
The Grass Valley K2 Edge multichannel, integrated, automated playout system is based on the technology platforms developed by PubliTronic (see: “Grass Valley Announces New K2 Edge Automated, Multichannel, Integrated Playout Solution,” October 12, 2011).
While there are benefits for some facilities invested in traditional playout automation to continue with that approach, it is too expensive and unnecessarily complex for many of the new players coming online. A fully integrated system offers tremendous benefits, the least of which being lower initial capital cost. Total cost of ownership is also reduced by streamlining the playout workflow as each tool—server, graphics, master control, and the automation system itself—is seamlessly integrated and purpose-built to work together.
“This acquisition by Grass Valley is great for PubliTronic’s customers, as the entire team in Apeldoorn can now enjoy the resources of a true multi-national company, complete with deep knowledge in video and server technologies,” said Harold Vermeulen, Vice President, Media Playout Solutions, Grass Valley and Founder and former Managing Director of PubliTronic. “Now, together, our technologies can bring real cost and operational benefits to the industry on a large scale.”
Multichannel, integrated, automated playout is the next evolution in the program playout market segment. While traditional playout solutions take advantage of IT-based technologies to control separate components, it is only when all of the applications—asset management, channel design, media playout, and automation—are designed to work together from the ground up, can one realize further workflow efficiencies.
“PubliTronic is a great complement to the Grass Valley team,” said Charlie Dunn, Executive Vice President, Products and General Manager, Editing, Servers & Storage Product Group for Grass Valley. “They have well-engineered products and the same values and focus on the importance of leveraging IT technologies in broadcast as we do. This will not only help to quickly extend the K2 media server product family, but will help to deliver more complete solutions to our customers more quickly.”
About Grass Valley – the Premier Video Technology Solutions Company
With a rich history serving the broadcast and professional video industries, the Grass Valley name is synonymous with innovation, leadership, and performance. With a full range of products and services supporting many of the world’s most high-profile television events, Grass Valley offers the most comprehensive portfolio of flexible and cost-effective digital technologies and systems available. Customers deploying Grass Valley solutions include most of the world’s leading broadcast and teleproduction facilities, independent video professionals, as well as emerging content creators and distributors providing broadband, telecommunications, and transmission services. When you’re watching news, sports, or entertainment programming, whether on a TV, the Web, or a mobile phone, you’re watching Grass Valley at work.
For information about Grass Valley products, please visit www.grassvalley.com.
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About Francisco Partners
Francisco Partners is a leading global private equity firm focused exclusively on investments in technology and technology-enabled services businesses. With approximately $7 billion of capital raised to date, Francisco Partners pursues structured investments in technology companies, targeting investments in private companies, public companies and divisions of public companies, with transaction values ranging from $25 million to over $500 million. For additional information, visit www.franciscopartners.com.
Contacts
Grass Valley
Denise Williams, 503-526-8160
denise.williams@grassvalley.com
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