Winch Capital 3, run by Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners, has bought a 49% stake in Thomson Video Networks.
The deal was first announced last Septmeber and is now closed.
Thomson Video Networks is a video compression systems company specialising in head-end networks offering compression and transcoding solutions.The group, headquartered at Cesson-Sévigné, has 16 sites throughout the world and employs more than 400 people. Sales amount to around USD $100 million, of which 90% is in exports.
Thomson Video Networks resulted from a spin-off from the Technicolor group in 2011, a deal led by the company’s executive management under Christophe Delahousse and with the assistance of the FCDE investment company. After the large-scale transformation of the newly independent company, Thomson Video Networks’ management wished to accelerate growth and bolster its leadership in its historic terrestrial and satellite TV markets while becoming an essential player in new segments like over the top (OTT) video and IPTV.
To accompany Thomson Video Networks on this ambitious growth plan, Winch Capital 3 was chosen to succeed FCDE after a competitive process organized by DC Advisory. Winch Capital 3 has been joined by CMC-CIC Private Debt and the company’s executive team has reinvested all its proceeds.
“This investment in Thomson Video Networks fully embodies our new Winch Capital 3 fund strategy: to invest in an international, midsized company with an executive team that has increased its equity stake to roll out an ambitious development project with identified external growth opportunities,” said Sylvain Charignon, partner, Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners.
Christophe Delahousse, CEO of Thomson Video Networks, added: “We are delighted to have Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners on board. We are now fully equipped to accelerate growth and deploy our new ‘Behind Every Screen’ strategic approach, combining on-premises and cloud-based resources to help operators preserve video quality and control cost of ownership for broadcast and multi-screen services. Thomson Video Networks will be able to capitalize on its enlarged and innovative product and solutions portfolio, its global sales network, and the financial strength and expertise of Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners for external growth projects.”
