GECs
Tandberg Television acquires IP video delivery solutions provider SkyStream
MUMBAI: Tandberg Television has signed a definitive agreement to acquire SkyStream, the Sunnyvale, CA headquartered leader in IP video delivery solutions.
Under the terms of the agreement, Tandberg Television will acquire privately-held SkyStream for a mix of cash and Tandberg Television shares. The total consideration will be $80 million and the completion of the transaction is subject to a number of standard conditions. The transaction is expected to close in April 2006.
SkyStream employs approximately 100 people across North America and in the UK, China and Korea. Founded in July 1996, SkyStream has delivered seven years of sequential revenue growth and achieved profitability in Q4 2005. The company posted 2005 revenues of $30.7 million, up 43 per cent on 2004, and with a gross margin of 65 per cent.
The move brings together two highly respected players in digital video delivery and will extend Tandberg Television’s position as the global leader in the professional video compression market. Through the acquisition Tandberg Television will expand its technology offering for IPTV and also for the cable, satellite DTH and on-demand markets with a highly complementary product set from SkyStream, the industry’s fastest-growing provider of IP video solutions with over 300 customers worldwide.
“The sands are shifting in the digital media market and there is an inevitable level of industry consolidation taking place. In a marketplace with a number of acquisition opportunities to pursue, we chose to acquire SkyStream because of the company’s best-in-class technologies and its strong culture of building revenue and profitable growth,” says Tandberg Television president and CEO Eric Cooney.
A recognised pioneer in IP content delivery, SkyStream’s high density Mediaplex-20 and iPlex switched digital video headends for MPEG-2/MPEG-4 AVC encoding and transcoding are used extensively by IPTV operators in Asia, Europe and the US. These solutions deliver lower cost, higher-density solutions to cable and satellite operators and will be a valuable extension to Tandberg Television’s DTH head end systems and its industry leading MPEG-4 AVC HDTV compression solutions.
In addition, SkyStream’s zBand content delivery software for push on-demand services is highly complementary to the Tandberg N2 On-Demand solutions and gives the company a complete ‘push and pull’ on-demand offering.
Tandberg Television and SkyStream already share a number of common customers and the companies’ solutions sit side-by-side in telco and satellite networks and combine to enable operators to deliver advanced IPTV and HDTV services. The acquisition will mean that Tandberg Television is better equipped than ever to meet its customers’ needs with fully integrated systems supported by its high quality systems delivery and integration services.
The move will also increase Tandberg Television’s global sales presence and strengthen its successful commercial organizations in North America, EMEA and APAC. The company will also add over 50 talented SkyStream engineers who will continue to work at their current sites including SkyStream’s Sunnyvale HQ which provides Tandberg Television with a Silicon Valley beach-head, bringing the company closer to its US customers and to a strong pool of future recruits and partners.
SkyStream’s customers include Safeway, Reuters, GlobeCast (a division of France Telecom), EchoStar Communications Corporation, Comcast, BT Broadcast Services, Belgacom, Clear Channel, Convergent Media, Eutelsat, Gilat, New Skies Satellites, ViaSat, Loral Skynet, EMS, Rural Telephone, CCTV, Shanghai Stock Exchange and Telecom Italia.
GECs
Sahara One reports financial results, notes director exit and business realignment
Muted revenues, steady expenses and strategic adjustments shape company’s current phase
MUMBAI: In a tale where the sands seem to be slipping faster than they can be gathered, Sahara One Media and Entertainment Limited has reported another quarter of wafer-thin income and widening losses, even as a boardroom exit adds to the unease.
The company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that its board, in a meeting held on April 4, approved its unaudited financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2025. The numbers paint a stark picture. Total income for the quarter stood at just Rs 0.13 lakh, unchanged sequentially and sharply down from Rs 0.26 lakh a year earlier.
Losses, meanwhile, deepened. The company posted a net loss of Rs 24.16 lakh for the quarter, compared to Rs 18.81 lakh in the June quarter and Rs 39.69 lakh in the same period last year. For the six months ended September 2025, the cumulative loss stood at Rs 39.69 lakh, while the full-year loss for FY25 was reported at Rs 60.72 lakh.
Expenses continued to outweigh income by a wide margin. Total expenses for the quarter came in at Rs 24.30 lakh, led by employee benefit costs of Rs 6.51 lakh and other expenses of Rs 17.78 lakh. Earnings per share remained in the red at Rs (0.11) for the quarter.
The balance sheet reflects a company with significant assets on paper but limited operational momentum. Total assets stood at Rs 23,065.57 lakh as of September 30, 2025, broadly unchanged from March 2025. Equity share capital remained steady at Rs 2,152.50 lakh, while total equity was reported at Rs 18,004.85 lakh.
Cash and cash equivalents saw a modest uptick to Rs 6.75 lakh from Rs 4.68 lakh earlier, supported by a positive operating cash flow of Rs 180.01 lakh for the period.
Yet, beneath these numbers lies a more complex narrative. The company’s auditors flagged their inability to obtain sufficient evidence to form a conclusion on the financial statements, citing lack of access to records. They also raised concerns over the company’s ability to continue as a going concern, pointing to insufficient funds, delayed recoveries, and stalled content investments.
Adding to the governance overhang, the company disclosed that Rana Zia has resigned as whole-time director, effective October 16, 2025, citing other professional commitments. The resignation, noted and accepted by the board, also brings an end to her role across company committees.
Regulatory pressures continue to loom large. The Securities and Exchange Board of India has already initiated penal actions for non-compliance with listing norms, with trading in the company’s shares remaining suspended. There is also a risk of promoter demat accounts being frozen.
Legacy legal issues remain unresolved. A substantial deposit of Rs 694,027.88 thousand linked to the long-running OFCD dispute involving Sahara group entities is still under the purview of the Supreme Court of India. Restrictions on asset disposal continue to weigh on the company’s financial flexibility.
Operationally, challenges persist across multiple fronts. Advances worth Rs 1,92,916 thousand given for film content remain stuck, with delays in project completion and uncertain recoverability. The company’s YouTube channel, despite being operational, has generated no revenue for over three years due to compliance lapses. In a further twist, management has indicated that revenues may have been fraudulently diverted through unauthorised changes to its AdSense account, with a police complaint in the works.
There are also missed revenue opportunities. Television content rights continue to be used by a related party despite the expiry of the licence agreement, with fresh negotiations still underway.
For now, Sahara One Media and Entertainment Limited appears caught between legacy disputes and present-day operational hurdles. As losses linger and governance questions mount, the road to recovery looks less like a sprint and more like a slow trudge through shifting sands.
