LiveU Sells for $400million to an Interesting new Owner
LiveU is a tech startup based in Israel focusses on development of live streaming hardware and software.Its customers include more than 3,000 major media organizations like ABC, Sky Sells for $400million.
The new owner is Carlyle Europe Technology Partners (CETP) IV, a fund that invests in middle market technology-focused opportunities in Europe and the U.S. Carlyle notes that LiveU is Carlyle’s first tech acquisition in Israel. Carlyle and LiveU have not disclosed the terms but TechCrunch reports it is a $400 million deal.
LiveU seller is an investment company, Francisco Partners, who acquired LiveU in 2019 for $200 million. LiveU’s valuation doubling in 2 years is a validation on the state of media today. How, video the centerpiece of how content and information are consumed, and its presence is only growing, and so companies building tools to improve how it is captured and transmitted are high valuable.
Ofcourse the pandemic has introduced a new dimension in the media sector. LiveU record and transmit events in the Tokyo Olympic Games, where live video is more important due to limited live audiences.
LiveU is also a tactical acquisition that is growing and consolidating its position. Most recently, it acquired its channel partner in the UK market, Garland Partners, to build more direct relationships and expand business with its clients in the region.
LiveU has built out a vertically integrated proposition, which includes not just cameras and other equipment for shooting video, but also encoding equipment to send it, and then hardware for receiving and using the content.
In other words, LiveU is a dynamic system, which can be used in a modular or all-in deployments, and that flexibility and reliability have led to it signing on more than 3,000 media organizations as customers, who utilizes the system for live sports and news capture.
Its ok to be envious of Francisco Partners’ quick flip of the valuable asset but it is clear that Carlyle is playing a much bigger game. We learn that Carlyle said it “will use its deep experience in the media tech sector to support LiveU’s growth ambitions.” The company already invests in adjacent companies like Disguise, NEP, The Foundry, Vubiquity, BTI Studios and The Mill. It also sounds like LiveU will be used to help the firm continue the consolidation play.
LiveU notes that “Carlyle will seek to further consolidate LiveU’s market position through M&A activity and organic growth while capitalizing on the rapidly growing demand for high-quality live video transmission,” adding that this will also include helping forge more media partnerships. The growing ubiquity of 5G will accelerate that trend, it said.
LiveU CEO and co-founder, Samuel Wasserman said in a statement that “We’re excited to partner with Carlyle as we look to expand LiveU’s global footprint and service offering. This is a significant milestone for LiveU and represents a strong vote of confidence in our business,” said in a statement. “Carlyle brings deep industry expertise with their track record in the media and technology space alongside a global network. We greatly thank Francisco Partners and IGP Capital for their support and partnership over the last few years.”
More deals this summer apart from LiveU Sells for $400million.
