Grass Valley Group Raises $36 Million Equity Investment

The Grass Valley Group (www.grassvalleygroup.com) announced that a group of investors led by a Lazard private equity affiliate has made a $36 million equity investment in the company. In addition to the Lazard private equity affiliate, investors include Dr. Terence J. Gooding, executive chairman of the Grass Valley Group. The company did not release the terms of the financing.

The company states that the equity funding will provide capital for growth anticipated from the Grass Valley Group's new products, enabling the company to make strategic acquisitions, and hasten its entry into new markets. The Grass Valley Group states that it has leveraged some of its core video expertise to expand into Internet video streaming and digital cinema.

Over the past three years, the Grass Valley Group has used a $100 million investment in research and development to completely revamp its switcher, server, router, and modular product lines. Through the acquisition of Vibrint Technologies in March 2000, the company has positioned itself to meet the pent-up demand for digital news production solutions.

Recent successes for the company include a three-year deal announced in late April consisting of a $25 million strategic technology agreement with NBC to deploy Grass Valley solutions in support of the network's company-wide central casting, news production, media asset management, and high-definition playback efforts.

"Customer enthusiasm for the company's new products is robust, with recent major orders from key digital media leaders such as NBC, DirecTV, Australian Broadcasting Corp., and France Telecom. This confirms our view that the Grass Valley Group is the premier supplier of digital media solutions to a broad array of end markets,'' said Paul J. Zepf, a managing director at Lazard.