Morgan Stanley Private Credit Leads $220 Million Recapitalization for Grass Valley
Recapitalization will accelerate growth and lead the reimagination of workflow for media technology provider after a promising 2023
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Morgan Stanley Private Credit (“MSPC”) announced today that several of its investment funds have led a $220 million recapitalization for Grass Valley, a leading media technology company that provides end-to-end solutions for the live media and entertainment industry. This strategic transaction will strengthen the company’s balance sheet and further accelerate investments in software and integrated hardware solutions as part of one of the most advanced cloud-native media platforms in the industry.
Grass Valley is helping to lead the future of live production solutions by enabling streamlined workflows through the Grass Valley Media Universe (GVMU), which includes the AMPP SaaS Platform, an open ecosystem delivering significant advantages with flexibility across on-prem, hybrid or cloud native deployment models. With this recapitalization, Grass Valley will accelerate its investment across the combined GVMU integrated hardware and software solutions, enabled by AMPP, further extending its leadership across live, networking, content production, and playout workflows.
“We are pleased to be Grass Valley’s financing partner and support the company in its next phase of growth,” said Peter Ma, Managing Director, Morgan Stanley Private Credit. “This debt investment is an example of our ability to provide a flexible capital solution tailored to meet Grass Valley’s needs, positioning the business for significant future success.”
Commenting on the investment, Grass Valley’s Chairman and CEO, Louis Hernandez Jr., said: “This recapitalization serves to accelerate Grass Valley’s growth coming out of a successful 2023. We had our strongest year since 2020 for live production and networking infrastructure hardware. Earnings increased over 100%, revenues nearly doubled thanks to a significant increase in recurring revenue with AMPP, and we hired hundreds of employees globally. This investment will accelerate Grass Valley’s innovation across their entire portfolio during an industry-wide transition period, particularly in the AMPP ecosystem.”
About Grass Valley
Grass Valley is the leading media technology provider for the media and entertainment industry. Trusted by the world’s top media brands, Grass Valley is empowering content producers to deliver great live experiences through best-in-class hardware and software solutions that improve efficiency and reduce costs. Supporting customers across the globe, Grass Valley is at the forefront of groundbreaking media innovation and continues to create the future of live media production. Headquartered in Montreal, Grass Valley has been engaged in the media technology business for over 60 years. For more information about Grass Valley, go to grassvalley.com.
About Morgan Stanley Private Credit
Morgan Stanley Private Credit, part of Morgan Stanley Investment Management, is a private credit platform focused on direct lending and opportunistic private credit investment in North America and Western Europe. The Morgan Stanley Private Credit team invests across the capital structure, including senior secured term loans, unitranche loans, junior debt, structured equity and common equity co-investments. For further information, please visit the website: morganstanley.com/im/private-credit
Contacts
Morgan Stanley: Alyson Barnes
(212) 762-0514
mediainquiries@morganstanley.com
Grass Valley: Bénédicte Fauveau
benedicte.fauveau@grassvalley.com