Grass Valley-Black Dragon Deal in Depth: Louis Hernandez and Tim Shoulders on What the Deal Means for the Industry By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Tuesday, February 4, 2020 - 2:31 pm
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Earlier today, when news broke that Belden would be selling its Grass Valley business to Black Dragon Capital, many in the broadcast industry breathed a sigh of relief. After Belden announced plans to divest Grass Valley in October, the broadcast-technology giant - and its customers - found itself in a state of limbo as the company pursued a new private-ownership structure. However, with the Black Dragon deal now in place, the private equity fund's founder/CEO Louis Hernandez Jr. and Grass Valley President Tim Shoulders are projecting a bright future ahead.
SVG spoke at length with Hernandez, the former CEO of Avid and a broadcast-industry veteran, and Shoulders, who will continue in his role as Grass Valley president, following the news. The two painted a picture of a company that will be less concerned with short-term financial needs that drive the stock of a publicly owned company like Belden and far more focused on building value into the business over the long-term.
In addition, both Hernandez and Shoulders say the deal will accelerate the shift of Grass Valley's product portfolio to more flexible software- and SaaS-based technologies in the near future. Hernandez also stressed that Black Dragon is in it for the long run and hopes to bring stability to Grass Valley, which has seen three owners in the past decade.
Here's an inside look from Hernandez and Shoulder into how the deal got done, why it makes sense for both companies, what customers can expect in the near-term, and what the acquisition means for the sports-broadcast sector and the M&E industry as a whole.
Why did this deal make sense for Grass Valley?
Tim Shoulders will remain as President of Grass Valley.
Shoulders: Being part of the Black Dragon Group will help Grass Valley accelerate our innovation and we will have the ability to be more strategically focused on the long-term. There will be a lot less concern about short term financial needs that were driven by being part of a publicly-owned company and a lot more focus on building value into the business over the long-term. I think that is extremely positive.
And why did this acquisition make sense for Black Dragon Capital?
Hernandez: First, what makes Black Dragon unique is we're all operators and all of us have run successful businesses in the sectors which we invest, which is media and sports, banking, and eCommerce. And in each of those areas we create a thesis of what's happening with the digital disruption and which companies are best positioned to lead. Based on our assessment, we believe Grass Valley is in an ideal position to help [customers] navigate this transition to pure digital workflows. Unlike a lot of companies who announce products and then they aren't ready for a long time, we were very pleasantly surprised with how advanced their technology was, so we couldn't be more excited.
Why do you see Black Dragon as the right ownership fit for Grass Valley moving forward?
Shoulders: I think Black Dragon makes an excellent owner for the Grass Valley business because they have expertise in digital transitions and that is exactly what the broadcast business is going through currently. In our strategic plan at Grass Valley, we had identified a real need to help the industry [transition] into more flexible business models and dynamic workflows. Black Dragon has the expertise of already having done that on several occasions, so we will be able to rely on their expertise in order to get to the end goal faster.
What does this deal mean specifically for the sports-production and -broadcast industry?
Shoulders: This transaction puts us in an improved position to invest in workflows that will help our sports clients deploy more efficient productions, including REMI models or cloud-based-production models. In a relatively short period of time, we are going to be able to provide them with solutions that will revolutionize the way they create content. I think that's exciting. They'll be able to experiment with their own business models and their own revenue models in a way that's cost effective. And we're uniquely positioned to unlock those abilities for them because of the breadth of our product set.
Can you describe what the Black Dragon Playbook is and how you see it aiding Grass Valley in the future?
Louis Hernandez Jr., Founder CEO of Black Dragon Capital, is optimistic about the future of the broadcast industry and Grass Valley's prospects ahead.
Hernandez: All the partners [at Black Dragon] have started businesses and turned them into billion dollar businesses, as well as around very large companies that were in trouble. Through those experiences, we've learned and codified a way to create high-growth, financially-viable software companies that are leading their industries. We've essentially codified that into three tools: the Black Dragon Leadership Index, which is how to identify and put together the best team for the phase of development the company's in, The Black Dragon Playbook, which is how to solve the industry's most critical problems and inspire the industry forward in an economically sustainable way, and The Black Dragon Way, which creates an accountable winning culture where people love to work there and you really make a difference in the community.
As it relates to, Grass Valley, we feel we can use these tools to really help the management advance the course that they're already on without being limited by being part of a public company that is focused on quarterly results. We are really embracing an industry that we love to participate in and inves
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Grass Valley-Black Dragon Deal in Depth: Louis Hernandez and Tim Shoulders on What the Deal Means for the Industry By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor 
