Technicolor to sell Thomson Video Networks

French audiovisual group Technicolor has announced it received a binding offer from local capital development fund FCDE to acquire Thomson Video Networks.
The FCDE, endowed with about ?200m, specialises in the recovery and development of SMEs with a…

French audiovisual group Technicolor has announced it received a binding offer from local capital development fund FCDE to acquire Thomson Video Networks.

The FCDE, endowed with about ?200m, specialises in the recovery and development of SMEs with a growth potential.

The investment will give FCDE full ownership of Thomson Video Networks’ portfolio of video encoders and MPEG processors, of the Thomson brand and of the company’s sales and customer support organisations.

In a statement, Charles-Henri Rossignol, FCDE executive board member, said: “This investment will allow Thomson Video Networks to reinforce its presence with a renewed product line targeting the most promising market segments – satellite, terrestrial, IPTV, and Web TV – and the fastest growing regions (United States, South America, and Asia).” Thomson Video Networks could not be reached to comment on the financial details of the transaction before the press deadline. But Technicolor confirmed to SatelliteFinance that this deal marks the end of the company’s offloading strategy.

The announcement comes just a couple of months after Technicolor said it would soon complete its prolonged financial restructuring after redeeming a portion of its existing debt with new shares and selling its Grass Valley broadcast and transmission businesses. The French company, previously known as Thomson, has been selling off several assets in recent months, having spent much of 2008 and early 2009 struggling to manage its onerous ?2.8bn debt burden which forced it to undertake a significant restructuring plan.

At the beginning of 2011, Technicolor announced that the sale of its Grass Valley Broadcast business to San Franciscobased private equity firm Francisco Partners for approximately US$100m had been completed. Under the terms of the transaction, Francisco Partners paid ?20m in cash and an US$80m 6-year promissory note paying 5% per annum.

Grass Valley Broadcast provides professional equipment and related services to satellite and cable TV broadcasters and teleproduction companies. Deutsche Bank advised Technicolor on the sale.

Before that, in October 2010, Technicolor announced that it would be selling the majority of its 50% stake in cinema advertiser Screenvision US to Shamrock Capital Growth Fund II.

Another asset on the block included Premier Retail Networks (PRN), which provides digital out-of-home media networks and services, but Technicolor reportedly decided against selling it, after receiving unsatisfactory offers from potential buyers.

Perella Weinberg Partners and were mandated by Technicolor to advised it on the restructuring strategy.