Avid (Nasdaq: AVID) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Orad Hi-Tec Systems Ltd., a Frankfurt stock exchange-listed public company with its headquarters in Kfar Saba, Israel, for €5.67 per share in an all-cash transaction. Orad is a leading provider of state-of-the-art 3D real-time graphics, video servers and associated workflow management solutions. The acquisition is consistent with Avid’s stated growth strategy, and Avid believes Orad will help it continue to deliver on the company’s Avid Everywhere vision, by adding key content creation and media management solutions to the Avid MediaCentral Platform, the industry’s most open, innovative and comprehensive media platform.
Established in 1993, Orad also maintains R&D operations in Szczecin, Poland and Surrey, UK as well as regional offices in key markets. Orad was established around the theme of virtual advertisement in sporting events, and virtual studios. The company was one of the early inventors of those concepts and market segments. Over the years, the company grew its portfolio, offering state-of-the-art real-time graphics , video servers and associated workflow management solutions that address critical customer needs in news, channel branding, and live sports production.
Orad is at the forefront of those markets. Its achievements have been recognized by both its customers and the media, having been honored with multiple awards, including 2 Emmys. Orad has approximately 240 employees, and reported over $40 million of revenues during 2014. Orad has over 600 active customers around the world, including broadcasters such as RTL, ESPN, TF1, TV Globo, CCTV, Channel 4, HBO, DW, Canal+, Turner and Televisa.
Orad’s state-of-the-art content creation and management solutions further complement and enhance Avid’s existing product suites on its MediaCentral Platform, offering customers more choice and greater flexibility in their Avid workflow. Once the acquisition of Orad is completed, Avid will be able to offer: A powerful, leading graphics solution suite; live event production, news and sports broadcast applications, including virtual sets, slow motion replay and production servers, channel-in-a-box, sports enhancement tools, virtual advertising and cloud-based live production; and differentiated technology capabilities, including image rendering, video graphics IP, video codecs and camera tracking
Over the next 8-10 weeks, Avid will be working closely with Orad to complete their transaction.