Harmonic and Omneon close the definitive purchase and sale agreement

Harmonic and Omneon sign a definitive purchase agreement worth 274 million dollars, of which 190 million will be paid in cash and the rest in Harmonic shares. The purchase of Omneon comes just one year after Harmonic's acquisition of digital video processing solutions maker Scopus Video Networks and Rhozet.

With the intention of becoming a benchmark in the broadcast industry, Harmonic has finally closed the purchase of Omneon in an operation valued at 274 million dollars. The purchase of Omneon comes just one year after Harmonic's acquisition of digital video processing solutions manufacturer Scopus Video Networks and Rhozet, which specializes in transcoding solutions for the Internet, mobile platforms and other broadcast applications. For its part, Omneon had also invested in encoding, transcoding and IP distribution with the purchase of Castify, a company that months later sold to Aspera.

Patrick Harshman, president and CEO of Harmonic, has described this transaction as "a decisive step in forming a true powerhouse within the universe of broadcast equipment manufacturers. With our deep relationships with content producer clients and service providers, and with our market-leading technologies, we believe that our combined company will be uniquely positioned to capitalize on these trends and accelerate growth in our revenues."

The products and solutions of the combined Harmonic and Omneon companies are present in more than 100 countries across cable, satellite, telco, terrestrial, broadband and mobile networks. The new company, which will be fully integrated beginning in the third quarter, will have a combined global research and development organization involving 450 engineers, 330 sales and service professionals, and a network of more than 250 channel sales partners. With top-tier clients such as BBC, BSkyB, CBS, Comcast, Discovery Communications, NBC Universal, News Corp., Televisa, Turner Broadcasting System and Viacom, Omneon's revenues in 2009 reached $105 million, with 67% of its billing coming from clients outside the United States.