RRsat makes European push with JCA acquisition

RRsat Global Communications Network has established a UK base after buying London-based digital video services firm JCA for US$13.5 million (€10.2 million).

The content management and distribution services firm agreed to pay US$9 million in cash, with an additional payment of US$4.5 million to be deferred, conditional on results in the three years following the deal.

The takeover gives RRsat “a strong foothold in Europe,” said RRsat CEO Avi Cohen and follows the firm’s establishment of a Moscow office earlier this year.

“This acquisition and the formation of RRsat Europe Ltd. are important milestones in the implementation of our strategy to become a global company with local presence, closer to our clients,” said Cohen.

With the deal, JCA’s managing directors, Simon Kay and Nick Pannaman, will remain at the company as managing directors of the newly created RRsat Europe Ltd, reporting directly to Cohen.

JCA will cease to exist as a brand name, however, the firm said it was “business as usual” in the short term, with enhanced services and solutions due to be announced in the coming months.

“Evolving from being a stand-alone local company to being part of a global business will enable us to offer a greatly expanded service portfolio. We are committed to pursuing this opportunity and maximising our capabilities as part of the RRsat group,” said Kay.

Cohen added: “There are two major aspects to our business: content management and content distribution. While the content distribution aspect involves our state-of-the-art facilities in the US and Israel, content preparation and management require a local presence working closely with our customers.

“The addition of JCA’s sophisticated local operation in London will enable RRsat to leverage local talent and provide services specifically for content preparation and content management to customers in Europe.”