Leitch acquires DPS
Leitch will pay the equivalent of $6.50 per DPS common share in the transaction, comprised of cash and Leitch common stock. The combined company will have 850 employees and expects total revenues to exceed $212 million for the next fiscal year.
The two companies share a common market in the development of video synchronizers and timing products, used to align signals from different locations. DPS's stand alone editing and animation systems, dpsVelocity and dpsReality are used in the creation of feature films and video programming and represent an incremental market for Leitch. The companies are also focusing on the growing video-over-IP market – DPS recently introduced "eBroadcast" versions of dpsVelocity and dpsReality for web video.
"This is a logical step in the evolution of our company," says John A. MacDonald, president and CEO for Leitch, Inc. "It strengthens our core video business and enhances our video storage and editing portfolio. We believe that next-generation video systems will be physically distributed, and that processes such as production and postproduction will be increasingly fragmented. Our strategy includes building the networked infrastructure itself, as well as providing a wide range of creative tools that can be used collaboratively in this environment. The DPS acquisition moves us closer to both of these goals."
Edited by Tom Butts
Managing Editor, Digital Broadcasting.com