Shortly before the Christmas holiday, Harmonic, a Sunnyvale, CA-based maker of video compression and cable infrastructure equipment, purchased the assets of Scopus Video Networks, a competitor and longtime provider of digital video networking solutions.
Under the terms of the agreement, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2009 and has been approved by the board of directors of both companies, Harmonic will pay approximately $51 million in cash (or $5.62 in cash for each outstanding share of Scopus). Harmonic said it will realize cost synergies of roughly $8 to $10 million annually after combining and eliminating some of the two organizations’ resources.
The acquisition is intended to expand Harmonic’s worldwide customer base and strengthen its position in international video broadcast, contribution and distribution markets. There are also numerous complementary video-processing technologies that will serve customers well. For example, Scopus’ next-generation integrated receiver processor (IRP) platform will complement Harmonic’s portfolio of video compression and distribution products and solutions.
For the first nine months of 2008, Scopus reported revenues of $55.4 million, an increase of 35 percent over the comparable period of the prior year. Approximately 79 percent of these revenues came from outside the United States. Scopus has approximately 300 employees worldwide. No details were provided as to how the combined company will look once the deal is finalized.
For more information, visit www.harmonicinc.com.
