Softel sold to Belden Inc
Miranda Technologies, a division of US multinational Belden Inc, has acquired Softel, a captioning, subtitling, audio and video description and interactivity company, based in Pangbourne, Berkshire. BCMS advised the vendors on the transaction, which completed in 2013.
Softel provides the Swift line of subtitling and captioning software products, and offers television systems that increase efficiency and add revenue stream opportunities. The company’s customer list includes some of the biggest names in the media sector, including ABC/Disney, the BBC, Deluxe, ESPN, Sky, and Technicolor. The company also has offices in New Zealand and in the US.
“It was clear from the outset that we had done the right thing in choosing BCMS” – Sam Pemberton, Softel
As a Belden brand, Miranda Technologies is a specialist provider of integrated solutions for production, playout and delivery systems for TV broadcasters and multi-system operators. “Captioning is a critical component of the playout chain, and one that is often difficult to manage,” said Marco Lopez, Miranda’s president. “By introducing Softel’s technology into the Miranda portfolio and directly integrating it into our iTX solution, we’ll present broadcasters with further efficiencies, not only in the purchase process, but also during deployment and in post-sale support as well. Miranda will continue to support the full Softel solutions suite and honour all Softel partner agreements.”
Sam Pemberton, Chief Executive Officer of Softel added: “Selling a business is never easy, especially one for which I care very deeply. Being aligned with Miranda in the Belden family extends our reach into potential new markets and being part of this team allows us to focus on continuous innovation.”
The importance of research
Analysing BCMS’ advisory role in the transaction, Sam Pemberton commented: “We didn’t think that in an industry like ours that BCMS would be able to identify a large number of potential purchasers. The research team certainly lived up to their reputation and the BCMS process did create a competitive environment around the business. It was clear from the outset that we had done the right thing in choosing BCMS.”
The transaction is further evidence of BCMS’ long-established ability to engage and transact with major international acquirers of behalf of its clients. Listed on the NYSE, and headquartered in St Louis, Missouri, Belden Inc employs over 8000 people and specialises in end-to-end signal transmission solutions for a variety of markets, including industrial, enterprise, and broadcast.
