Thomson Broadcast has signed a definitive agreement to acquire GatesAir from an affiliate of The Gores Group, a global investment firm.
The transaction is subject to certain regulatory filings and is expected to close in the second half of 2022. Details of the transaction were not disclosed.
GatesAir is a renowned company in the Broadcast industry with a history of powering over-the-air networks worldwide and has recently seen strong growth, coming off a very successful participation in the North America Spectrum Repack program.
The Company worked with Bowen Advisors on a robust process which involved interest from several strategic and financial parties, with Thomson Broadcast prevailing due to its highly complementary fit.
The combination of GatesAir with Thomson Broadcast will create a scaled, comprehensive platform with greater capabilities in innovation, design and product efficiency and an expanded portfolio of holistic, turnkey broadcast solutions.
CEO of GatesAir, Bruce D. Swail, says, “GatesAir is already an undisputed leader in the broadcast industry, and our combination with Thomson Broadcast will create a combined company of larger scale even better suited to meet the ever-evolving needs of our customers all over the globe.
“I am very proud of the GatesAir team for its stewardship of and innovation in this industry over the past century and look forward to entering the next 100 years as an even stronger business leveraging the strengths of two legendary broadcast brands. On behalf of everyone at GatesAir, I’d like to thank Gores for their strategic guidance which was invaluable in growing our business and driving innovation.”
Ylias Akbaraly
Chairman of Thomson Broadcast, Ylias Akbaraly, says, “In 2018, we set the goal to establish ourselves in the us market. With Thomson Broadcast and GatesAir now united, these two companies will make us stronger in America and globally as well.”
President of Thomson Broadcast USA, Aby Alexander, says, “Thomson Broadcast and GatesAir together can bring in innovative and revolutionary products to the broadcast industry in the centuries to come.”
Senior Managing Director at The Gores Group, Edward Johnson, says, “Over the course of our successful partnership with Bruce and the management team, GatesAir has driven tremendous growth and transformation through organic and inorganic initiatives, establishing itself as a premier, independent broadcast company with market leading technology and service.
“We have no doubt GatesAir will continue on its successful trajectory and strengthen its market leadership alongside Thomson Broadcast.”
Thomson Broadcast is an international French company well known in the broadcast sector with extensive experience in the fields of Digital Terrestrial Transmission (DTV) and AM Radio, including DRM.
This acquisition will give the company a much bigger foothold in the American market.
Although there has been no official announcement about current staff, radioinfo understands that all GatesAir team members will remain in their current roles.