- The Carlyle Group Invests in Leading Global Digital
Media Services Company
RESTON, Virginia, May 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Avail-TVN, the
largest global provider of advanced digital video services, today
announced that global alternative asset manager The Carlyle Group
(NASDAQ: CG) will lead $100 million
of new investment funding enabling Avail-TVN to acquire UK-based On
Demand Group, a provider of video on demand services to some of the
biggest television brands outside of the
United States. Carlyle joins existing Avail-TVN investors
including Columbia Capital, Valhalla Partners, Novak Biddle and Pioneer Ventures. Equity for
the investment comes from two Carlyle funds: Carlyle U.S. Growth
Fund III and Carlyle Europe Technology Partners II. Debt funding is
provided by Silicon Valley Bank, RBS Citizens, N.A. and Bank of
America, N.A. With this investment, Carlyle is now Avail-TVN's
largest investor.
Avail-TVN will use this investment to fund international
expansion and the development of new products and services for the
company's global client base of content providers and multichannel
video service providers. The first investment from this new
financing, the acquisition of On Demand Group from SeaChange
International (NASDAQ: SEAC), expands Avail-TVN's reach to more
than 25 countries, serving more than 70 million households
globally. Major markets include North America, the Caribbean, Latin
America, Europe,
Middle East and Asia.
"Our strategy has been to invest in leading players across the
digital media ecosystem and incorporate them into one company to
build Avail-TVN into the largest provider of advanced digital video
services worldwide," said Ramu
Potarazu, Avail-TVN's chief executive officer. "The
Carlyle Group's investment supports that vision, and provides the
capital and global network to build upon this foundation both
domestically and internationally. With the integration of On
Demand Group, we broaden our capabilities, extend our distribution
and are able to further develop monetization opportunities for our
customers in the rapidly-changing digital media space."
"The market opportunity for Avail-TVN continues to grow," said
Phil Herget, Avail-TVN's
chairman. "With new partners on board and an expanded global
reach, the company is poised to capitalize on trends and generate
revenue across the video value chain."
On Demand Group which provides digital media services for some
of the biggest television brands outside of the US, will continue
to service its customer base of leading broadband, television and
mobile service providers. The company provides transactional
video offerings to operators in 20 countries. Merging the two
companies brings together a diverse customer base, strong content
relationships with leading entertainment and media companies around
the globe, highly developed and proven workflow and delivery
systems, a wealth of entrepreneurial management talent and the
finance and scale to drive aggressive revenue growth. Tony Kelly, CEO at On Demand Group, will now
report to Avail-TVN CEO, Ramu
Potarazu, and serve as a member of the executive management
team.
"We see tremendous revenue value creation opportunities in the
global digital media space as technology continues to revolutionize
the way consumers access premium video entertainment," said
William Darman, principal, The
Carlyle Group. "Avail-TVN is an innovator helping
organizations across the value chain to continue to monetize video
content in new ways and this joint investment by The Carlyle
Group's U.S. and European growth funds is testament to the growth
prospects we see in this sector over the coming years."
"With the addition of the On Demand Group, Avail-TVN becomes the
largest provider of digital video in the world, reaching more
households in more countries than any other company in the space,"
said Will Smales, associate
director, The Carlyle Group. "As the digital video market
continues to evolve and mature, the company is poised to capitalize
on opportunities around the globe."
Stephens Inc. was an advisor to Avail-TVN on the
transaction.
About The Carlyle Group
The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) is a global alternative asset
manager with $159 billion of assets
under management in 94 funds and 63 fund of fund vehicles as of
March 31, 2012. Carlyle invests
across four segments – Corporate Private Equity, Real Assets,
Global Market Strategies and Fund of Funds Solutions – in
Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle
East, North America and
South America. Carlyle has
expertise in various industries, including: aerospace, defense
& government services, consumer & retail, energy, financial
services, healthcare, industrial, technology & business
services, telecommunications & media and transportation. The
Carlyle Group employs more than 1,300 people in 32 offices across
six continents. For more information, please visit
http://www.carlyle.com
About Avail-TVN
Avail-TVN is the largest global provider of digital video
services. Working with both service providers and content owners,
Avail-TVN is focused on providing its global customer base
solutions that simplify content management and distribution, and
enable the monetization of content. The company applies its managed
service approach, powered by proprietary technology, to the areas
of video-on-demand, linear content delivery, TV Everywhere,
advanced advertising and data services. For more information,
please visit http://www.avail-tvn.com.
About On Demand Group
On Demand Group develops and manages the on-demand businesses of
market-leading service providers in Europe, the Middle
East and Asia. The
company's service and technology suite, including the VZ and
Adrenalin content management platforms, is utilized by the service
providers that are proliferating high-quality streamed video to
millions of cable, IPTV and mobile subscribers. Visit
www.ondemand.co.uk