STG, Francisco Partners vie for Avid Technology-sources (updated)

Avid Technology

03/08/2023 18:07

(Adds Goldman Sachs and Avid declining to comment in paragraph
5)
    By Milana Vinn and Anirban Sen
       NEW YORK, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Symphony Technology Group
(STG) and Francisco Partners are among the private equity firms
competing to acquire media editing software maker Avid
Technology Inc  AVID.O , according to people familiar with the
matter.
    Avid started exploring options, including a sale, with the
help of investment bank Goldman Sachs Group  GS.N  earlier this
year, Reuters reported in May. 
    A deal could be inked as early as this month, the sources
said, requesting anonymity as these discussions are
confidential. Avid is scheduled to report quarterly earnings on
Aug. 9. 
    Burlington, Massachusetts-based Avid's shares were trading
at $22.96 on Thursday, giving the company a market
capitalization of about $1 billion. 
    Avid, Goldman and Francisco Partners declined to comment.
STG has not responded to a request seeking comment. 
    Palo Alto-based STG is a mid-market private equity firm
focused on technology investments. Earlier this year, STG struck
a deal to take Momentive Global Inc, the parent company of
SurveyMonkey, private in a $1.5 billion deal. 
    Francisco Partners is a prolific tech investor, which has
raised over $45 billion to date. Earlier this week, Francisco
Partners teamed up with TPG Inc  TPG.O  to acquire New Relic
 NEWR.N  for $6.5 billion. 
    Founded in 1987, Avid provides editing software and hardware
primarily to entertainment industries. Its products, which have
been used in the production of blockbuster movies such as "Top
Gun: Maverick" and "Avatar: The Way of Water", include Media
Composer, MediaCentral and AirSpeed.
    An activist hedge fund and Avid's largest shareholder,
Impactive Capital LP, has representation on the company's board
after cutting a deal with the company in 2019.

 (Reporting by Milana Vinn and Anirban Sen in New York; Editing
by Sharon Singleton)
 ((Anirban.Sen@thomsonreuters.com; Twitter: @asenjourno; Reuters
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