Harris Corporation and Leitch Technology Corporation announced today that Harris has completed its previously announced acquisition of Leitch following approval by Leitch shareholders and Court approval of the transaction. Leitch shareholders approved the acquisition by Harris of all of the outstanding common shares of the Toronto-based company for a cash price of C$14.00 per share. Total cash consideration paid by Harris, net of Leitch’s cash on hand, was approximately US$450 million.
“The addition of Leitch’s talented workforce, complementary product portfolio and customer base helps establish Harris as the partner of choice for broadcasters upgrading their equipment and software systems to operate in a digital environment,” said Howard Lance, chairman, president and CEO of Harris. “No other company offers the breadth of products that span the entire digital media content delivery chain. This acquisition enables Harris to further expand into larger, faster-growing broadcast markets, and we’re delighted that Tim Thorsteinson and his leadership team will remain with the company and continue to build on Leitch’s success as a business unit within our Broadcast Communications Division.”
“As part of the Harris Broadcast Communications business, Leitch will continue to provide the products that allow the broadcaster to transition to high definition digital services but with the added resources and global scale of one of the world’s leading broadcast hardware and software suppliers,” said Leitch President and CEO Tim Thorsteinson. “We look forward to building on our success and maximizing our value to customers as a combined company.”
Leitch shareholders should refer to Leitch’s management information circular dated September 16, 2005 for information regarding receipt of the payment of C$14.00 per share for their Leitch shares.
All of Leitch’s products – including routers and distribution equipment, signal processing, signal management and monitoring, servers and storage area networks, branding software and post-production editing systems – will be added to the Harris broadcast product portfolio. This combined portfolio serves every segment of the increasingly complex supply chain that brings digital audio, video, and data content to consumers. Leitch currently serves approximately 3,000 television service providers in 100 countries.
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