Investment firm Carlyle acquires LiveU from Francisco Partners

Live-Production
International
Company

Founded in 2006, LiveU is the pioneer of a bonded cellular technology-based live video transmission platform, offered to major live broadcast news networks and sports content owners globally. LiveU’s technology enables customers to apply innovation and automation to the entire production workflow. LiveU provides an end-to-end solution combining mission-critical acquisition, cloud production and IP distribution to broadcasters, sports organizations and production companies where reliability, quality, availability and low latency are key.
 
LiveU has been instrumental in supporting the growing demand for live news and sports content and the requirement to broadcast from remote and non-stationary locations, in particular as video quality requirements have increased in the era of 4K and 8K broadcasting. With over 3,000 customers in 130+ countries, LiveU’s technology enables broadcasters to guarantee live video uplink quality, helping top-tier global broadcasters as well as major sporting content owners to meet the strong demand from viewers for live and fan-based content. LiveU is currently gearing up for the Tokyo Summer Games with thousands of hours of live video content expected to be transmitted live from the games.
 
Carlyle will use its deep experience in the media tech sector to support LiveU’s growth ambitions, represented by existing investments in Disguise and NEP alongside prior investments including The Foundry, Vubiquity, BTI Studios and The Mill. Carlyle will seek to further consolidate LiveU’s market position through M&A activity and organic growth while capitalizing on the rapidly growing demand for high-quality live video transmission. This trend is expected to accelerate with the rollout of 5G, and as media production in the cloud progresses, increasing the requirements for flexible and remote operations. Carlyle will leverage its extensive global network to further expand LiveU’s customer base and help to develop relationships with some of the world’s leading content providers. 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.
 
www.liveu.tv