Acquisition of Mediastar Systems by Uniguest, Inc.

Kreston Reeves has successfully advised Uniguest, Inc. on the acquisition of Cabletime Ltd t/a Mediastar Systems.

Background

Mediastar Systems provides leading design and manufacture of products for the IPTV / AVoIP, Streaming and Signage industries. Solutions range from distributing rebroadcast TV and synchronised AV to media channels to combining sophisticated content creation technology with an easy-to-use interface and Digital Signage assets for multiple sectors.

The Company was formed in 2001 and is based in Newbury, England with branches in USA and Hong Kong, generating sales worldwide including Europe, Asia, Australia and North America. The Company recently rolled out new and complimentary products alongside its main Digital Signage products, which has contributed to its resilience as a business throughout COVID-19. Mediastar has also retained its customer base throughout the years maintaining its position as a leading Digital Signage and Visual Communications provider.

Uniguest is based in Nashville, Tennessee, with 14 additional offices around the globe to support its global customer base.

The Transaction

This acquisition allows Uniguest to strengthen its presence in the UK and provide synergies to its existing UK operations. The combination of businesses provides Uniguest with new product offerings and further expansion into the Digital Signage industry.

Comments

Jeff Hiscox, CEO of Uniguest said: “One of our growth pillars is M&A as it relates to finding companies that fit our strategy, add technology that our customers will want to leverage, and additional capabilities to our global base of operations.  MediaStar fit each of these criteria and marks the 4th UK based acquisition over the last 5 years.  In each UK acquisition we have partnered with Kreston Reeves to be our financial diligence partner.  They have exceeded our expectations every time, delivering timely and thoughtful analysis that enabled us to move quickly through diligence.  I know each of the companies that we have acquired have also appreciated their professionalism and how easy they can make a fairly complex process”.

It has been a pleasure working with Jeff, the Uniguest team and Cripps once again, to support management in delivering its successful growth by acquisition strategy. As a US company acquiring a UK business there were inevitably some complexities due to differing tax treatments and we liaised closely with CBIZ (our US Kreston Global member firm) on these matters. Our thanks also to the team at Mediastar who worked tirelessly and effectively to facilitate a smooth due diligence process.

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