Vitec Group announces acquisitions of Lightstream and Quasar for a total of $42 million
The Vitec Group plc announces the acquisition of Lightstream and Quasar Science. Lightstream, which is a US-based technology company providing a cloud-based video production and editing SaaS platform, will become part of Vitec’s Creative Solutions Division. The business has 22 employees; The four co-founders, including the CEO Stu Grubbs, will also join Vitec. The acquisition of Lightstream, for an expected total cost of $35.9 million (£26.0 million) in cash and shares.
Quasar, which was purchased for up to $6.1 million (£4.4 million) in cash, designs and develops a range of linear LED lighting solutions for cine-style applications. Quasar will become part of Vitec’s Production Solutions Division. The business has 18 employees, the majority of whom work in sales, R-and-D and product design and development in Los Angeles. The four co-founders will also work with Vitec. Quasar products are used in professional, large-scale film and scripted TV production as well as small-scale new media markets. The company said Quasar products are complementary to Vitec’s existing Litepanels brand.
“Lightstream is a world-leading live streaming software business,” says Stephen Bird, group chief, Vitec. “This acquisition enables Vitec to enter the substantial and fast-growing adjacent gaming market, adding innovative and complementary software for our live streaming customers and significantly expanding our customer reach. With Lightstream as part of the Group, we will be able to address the growing demand for cloud-based content creation as well as more than doubling our recurring revenue stream.
“Quasar products are highly complementary to our Litepanels brand and this acquisition will enhance our position as a leading player in the growing LED lighting market.
The company says the “acquisition is driven by Vitec’s long-standing strategy to increase our higher technology capabilities and expand our addressable markets,” particularly live streaming.