1. Grace Group Acquires HARRIS
Harris Morris, President of Harris Broadcast, stated that after selling to private equity firm Grace Group for $225 million, Harris Broadcast will retain the Harris name for three years, during which it will transition to a new brand. Business operations will continue as usual for the time being. There are no immediate layoff plans for the 1,700 employees, and management will remain unchanged. Morris will continue to lead the company from its headquarters in Englewood, Colorado. Facilities around the country will be retained. Morris indicated that no products or product lines are targeted for discontinuation. News, mobile, multi-channel broadcasting, and multi-format encoding are all foundational to the broadcast division. The latest version of Versio, launched at IBC, is scheduled for delivery this month. A significant product announcement in the areas of workflow, infrastructure, and networking, or WIN, is being prepared for the NAB pre-show media. Due to strategic adjustments, Harris announced the sale of its broadcast division last May. Harris acquired Leitch for $450 million in 2005, purchased Encoda for $340 million in 2004, and earlier acquired Louth Automation for $85 million in 1999. According to Harris's 2010 annual report, the broadcast business reported an operating loss of $30.8 million for the fiscal year 2010, a 17% decline in revenue compared to the previous year, attributed to a significant drop in the performance of the transmission systems business. During this period, the transition to digital television in the U.S. was completed, and hundreds of television stations replaced their transmission equipment.
2. Belden Acquires Miranda
Belden's board is optimistic about television broadcasting. The growth of this industry has prompted the company to bid for the Canadian broadcast equipment provider Miranda. This CA$345 million deal, pending shareholder approval, is expected to close on July 24. This acquisition will significantly expand Belden's influence in the broadcast market. Acquiring Miranda will increase Belden's impact in the television broadcasting market from a CA$3 billion market to a CA$4.6 billion market, representing a total growth rate of 5%-6%. With Miranda's addition, Belden holds an 11% market share in core products for television broadcast signal transmission. Cable remains Belden's core revenue source, with revenue of $1.39 billion in 2011, while connector revenue was $289 million. Network revenue was $307 million. However, from 2005 to 2011, the compound annual growth rate for cable was 2.5%, while connectors experienced a compound annual growth rate of 35.8%, and networking started from zero in 2005.
Belden has been involved in the cable industry since the 1920s and began expanding into connectors and data networking technology with a series of acquisitions starting with a cable design technology company in 2005. In 2007, the company acquired internet interface provider Hirschmann for $260 million and also acquired the German connector company Lapp Group that same year. In 2008, it acquired wireless LAN equipment manufacturer Trapeze Networks for $133 million. In 2009, Belden acquired Telecast Fiber Systems for $20 million. Belden's management stated that the return on investment for this deal is 15.1%. Acquisitions in 2010 also included GarrettCom, which solidified Belden's position in the data networking field through industrial-grade switches, routers, converters, serial communication, and security software. In 2010, Belden also acquired connector company Thomas & Betts for $78 million in cash. Last year, Belden acquired Tofino Security and IMC for $21.6 million. Miranda itself has also been active in acquisitions, acquiring Nvision for $40 million in 2008 and OmniBus for $46.7 million in 2010.
3. Cisco Acquires NDS
Since Cisco received EU approval to acquire Israeli video software company NDS for $5 billion, the company has officially announced the completion of the acquisition. According to the acquisition agreement, Cisco paid approximately $5 billion, which includes debt repayment costs and talent retention incentives. Israeli video software company NDS is 51% owned by private equity firm Permira, with the remaining 49% owned by News Corp. Cisco's main goal in acquiring this video software developer is to strengthen its position in the video communications market: "NDS's software platform, customer base, and service model will contribute to the development of Cisco's network video business and accelerate the development of Cisco's proprietary platform, Videoscape." The Cisco Videoscape platform primarily provides users with next-generation video entertainment experiences through network video service providers and media companies. Since Cisco received EU approval last week to acquire Israeli video software company NDS for $5 billion, the company has officially announced the completion of the acquisition. According to the acquisition agreement, Cisco paid approximately $5 billion, which includes debt repayment costs and talent retention incentives. Israeli video software company NDS is 51% owned by private equity firm Permira, with the remaining 49% owned by News Corp. Cisco's main goal in acquiring this video software developer is to strengthen its position in the video communications market: "NDS's software platform, customer base, and service model will contribute to the development of Cisco's network video business and accelerate the development of Cisco's proprietary platform, Videoscape." The Cisco Videoscape platform primarily provides users with next-generation video entertainment experiences through network video service providers and media companies.
4. ARRIS Acquires Former MOTO Set-Top Box Division
Arris will acquire Motorola Home, primarily focused on set-top boxes, from Google for $2.05 billion in cash and $300 million in stock, totaling $2.35 billion. The boards of both companies have approved the transaction, which is expected to close in the second quarter of 2013, subject to regulatory approval. Upon completion of the transaction, Google will receive approximately 15.7% of Arris's shares.
Motorola's set-top box business has been profitable, generating total revenue of $3.4 billion in the past year ending September. It is expected that in the first full year following the completion of the transaction, the company's non-GAAP earnings per share will see a significant increase. Arris Chairman and CEO Bob Stanzione stated that the businesses are complementary, and the integration will result in a "leading end-to-end supplier today in video, data, and voice products, as well as in next-generation IP-based broadband products in the future."
5. Barco Acquires PD
Global leader in digital visualization solutions, Belgium's Barco, recently announced that it has acquired 61% of the shares of Norway's leading projection technology brand projectiondesign (PD) from private equity fund Herkules Capital, with the remaining shares held by minority shareholders of the company. The merger between Barco and PD will create a stronger market leader, providing more comprehensive system solutions for the mid-to-high-end projection market. This transaction will further assist Barco in its strategic expansion in the mid-range projection market while solidifying its leadership position in high-performance projection technology.