Harmonic acquires Omneon

Video technology provider Harmonic has acquired production and playout specialist Omneon Video Networks for approximately US$274m (€215m) in cash and stock.

The acquisition will give Harmonic a position in the production technology space to combine with its own expertise in video delivery infrastructure.

“This proposed combination will position Harmonic to become a global leader in video infrastructure for the digital media industry,” said Patrick Harshman, president and CEO of Harmonic. “Media companies are being driven by ever-increasing demand for video content coupled with consumers’ desire to consume video anytime and anywhere. At the same time, the dramatic growth of video delivery over broadband and wireless networks is blurring traditional boundaries between content producers and service providers. With our deep customer relationships with content producers and service providers, and with our market leading technologies that span content acquisition through delivery, we believe that our combined company will be uniquely positioned to capitalise on these trends and to accelerate revenue growth.”

Omneon, which like Harmonic is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, produces media server and storage systems for the production, distribution and management of digital media, had revenues of about US$105m in 2009.