Ericsson Buy Technicolor For £15m

Ericsson has acquired the broadcast services division of French media company Technicolor for €19 million( £15.9m) and a potential earn-out of up to €9(£7.5m) million.
The French company was called Thomson until 2010 when it took the name of its US subsidiary, better known for the invention of colour movie technology in the 1920s.
Indeed the Stockholm-based company is set to takeover Technicolor’s European playout operations in the UK, France and the Netherlands.
The acquisition will bring approximately 900 highly skilled professionals and playout operations located in France, UK and the Netherlands serving several leading broadcasters and will allow Ericsson to substantially increase its current broadcast operations in terms of channels managed and households reached.
The announced acquisition intention is in line with Ericsson's managed services strategy to broaden its capabilities in the broadcasting area.
"As the TV industry is undergoing fundamental changes with the transition to multi-platform, on-demand television, teaming up with a trusted partner enables broadcasters to meet the increasing commercial and technological complexity and competition in the TV market" said Magnus Mandersson, Executive Vice President and Head of Business Unit Global Services, Ericsson.
"We combine our service and technology leadership with strategic investments in playout operations, broadcast capability and competence."
The deal, which is expected to complete mid-way through the year, will see 900 staff join Ericsson.
(LB)