Montréal-based media technology company Grass Valley has officially gone private.
The completion of its acquisition by private equity firm Black Dragon Capital from Belden Inc. was seen last week.
It seals the book on a transaction, announced earlier this year, that Grass Valley says places it “in an ideal position to continue driving innovation as it leads the media and entertainment industry’s transition to a cloud-based future and pay-as-you-go business models.”
With the deal, Black Dragon Capital assumes full control of Grass Valley and all of its assets.
Belden will maintain a financial interest in Grass Valley and has entered into a multi-year Transition Services Agreement (TSA) to ensure the smooth handover of key business and operational systems from Belden to Black Dragon.
With the acquisition complete, Grass Valley will continue its day-to-day activities under the leadership of the company’s president, Tim Shoulders, without disruption.
“Grass Valley has shown itself to be the transformation partner for our customers time and again, leading the way with the transition from SDI to IP and now again with the move to cloud-based and SaaS solutions,” Shoulders said. “By leveraging Black Dragon’s experience, Grass Valley will be able to more effectively develop and deliver solutions that lead the media industry through its own digital transformation.”
Black Dragon’s founder and CEO Louis Hernandez Jr. commented, “Grass Valley’s strong client base, comprehensive product suite, advanced technology, outstanding service reputation and brand positions them well to lead and inspire this industry during a time of digital disruption. We are excited to be a part of their next phase working closely with the Grass Valley team.”
Shoulders continued, “The coming months will see us build on the recent successful launch of GV AMPP, the cloud-enabled, SaaS platform built specifically for broadcast. I’m thrilled to be at the helm as we work closely with Louis and his team to identify the most mutually beneficial ways to meet the needs of those in the media technology industry. There’s tremendous opportunity for growth as we transition to a software-defined future.”
