Magnus Mandersson
STOCKHOLM—Ericsson intends to acquire Red Bee Media from an entity controlled by Macquarie Advanced Investment Partners, L.P., pending regulatory approval.
The acquisition supports the company’s strategy to grow in the broadcast services market and to help broadcasters and content owners address the convergence of video and mobility. This move will further strengthen Ericsson's broadcast services business, which was started in 2007 and expanded in 2012 with the acquisition of Technicolor’s Broadcast Services Division.
With 1,240 Red Bee Media employees based in the U.K., Ericsson’s U.K. business will grow to around 4,000 employees, with more than one-third working in the media services business.
Since its founding in 2005, Red Bee Media has provided media asset management, playout and digital video publishing, metadata services, multilingual access services and creative services to broadcasters and broadband platforms. Red Bee Media is also the largest editorial metadata provider in Europe, delivers more than 100,000 hours of subtitling per year for broadcasters.
“Ericsson is making a step change to our business, cementing our commitment to TV and broadcast services and continuing a journey we started in 2007,” said Magnus Mandersson, executive vice president and Ericsson’s head of business unit global. “We can create value for broadcasters by making digital content more accessible, enabling monetization of TV content more efficiently. Video traffic shows very strong uptake in the mobile networks, and Ericsson can address the need of both broadcasters and telecom operators through our technology expertise and services capabilities.”
After the acquisition, Red Bee Media will be incorporated into Ericsson’s Business Unit Global Services.
