LiveU has been sold for the second time in as many years, after being acquired by global investment firm Carlyle.
Details of the transaction have not been revealed. Equity for the investment will be provided by Carlyle Europe Technology Partners (CETP) IV, a fund that invests in middle market technology-focused opportunities in Europe and the US.
The company has acquired LiveU from private equity firm Francisco Partners Management LLC, which acquired the company with Tel Aviv-based Israel Growth Partners (IGP) for $200 million in May 2019.
Carlyle specialises in partnering with technology businesses, and already has investments in Disguise, NEP, The Foundry, Vubiquity, BTI Studios and The Mill.
It says it intends to further consolidate LiveU’s market position through M&A activity and organic growth while capitalising on the rapidly growing demand for high-quality live video transmission.
Carlyle added that it plans to leverage its global network to further expand LiveU’s customer base and help to develop relationships with content providers.
Samuel Wasserman, CEO and co-founder of LiveU, said: “We’re excited to partner with Carlyle as we look to expand LiveU’s global footprint and service offering. This is a significant milestone for LiveU and represents a strong vote of confidence in our business. Carlyle brings deep industry expertise with their track record in the media and technology space alongside a global network. We greatly thank Francisco Partners and IGP Capital for their support and partnership over the last few years.”
Michael Wand, managing director and co-head of the CETP advisory team, added: “Carlyle has a history of investing in fast-growing and highly innovative, disruptive media technology companies and is truly excited to partner with LiveU which is at the forefront of a rapidly growing market. Our partnership with the LiveU team will allow us to support their growth, driven by a mixture of expanding into new verticals, targeted M&A activity and through further developing their relationships with key media broadcasters, particularly in live sports where we are witnessing an exploding demand for live content.
“We believe that the ongoing shift towards high quality real-time video content, the cost advantages of bonded cellular versus alternative transmission technologies, and the opportunity to bring live broadcast to hitherto neglected areas such as semi-pro or non-professional sports, provides an enormous growth potential for LiveU.”
