Advanced Television

Belden to sell-off Grass Valley

October 30, 2019

Belden has revealed its intention to divest the Grass Valley media technology business. Annoucing the company’s Q3 results John Stroup, CEO and Chairman of Belden, remarked, “We completed a rigorous strategic review of our portfolio of businesses, and today’s announcement marks an important outcome. We concluded that it is in the best interests of our shareholders, customers, and employees to separate Grass Valley from Belden. This will enable Grass Valley to more effectively execute its strategic plan and pursue growth opportunities. Further, this separation will simplify Belden’s portfolio and improve organic growth and revenue visibility.”

“The remaining Belden portfolio will consist of strong businesses in attractive Industrial and Enterprise markets, each aligned with powerful secular trends. These include industrial automation, cybersecurity, broadband & 5G, and smart buildings. This portfolio, while smaller, offers improved predictability and multiple platforms for accelerating organic growth and margin expansion. In addition, we continue to see numerous opportunities for disciplined capital deployment as we invest in compelling inorganic opportunities in these robust markets,” added Stroup.

Belden’s revenues for the quarter totaled $620.3 million, decreasing $35.5 million, or 5.4 per cent, compared to $655.8 million in Q3 2018.

In response to the decision, Grass Valley issued a statement saying: “The move is a positive one for Grass Valley, its employees and customers. Grass Valley is a market leader in the media technology business and a profitable operation with top quartile EBITDA performance. Grass Valley is the world’s leading media technology supplier with uniquely strong customer and partner relationships. This makes Grass Valley an attractive investment to those interested in the media tech space and Belden has been actively discussing options with interested parties during 2019.”

This would mean another new owner for Grass Valley – it was part of Thomson from 2001 to 2009, then the Francisco Partners ventures then Belden from 2014.

Grass Valley said it does not expect this announcement to disrupt its current operations and will continue to focus on meeting the needs of customers, partners and employees.

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