MUMBAI -- Dec. 15, 2016 -- Emerald Media, the Pan-Asia company backed by leading global investment firm KKR for investing in the media and entertainment sector, today announced that it has acquired a significant minority stake in Amagi Media Labs ('Amagi'), the leader in targeted TV advertising and cloud-based TV broadcast infrastructure. Premji Invest, the investment arm of Azim Premji, (an existing shareholder) is also participating in this combination of primary and secondary US$35 million Series D round. Mayfield India and Nadathur Holdings will continue to remain invested in the Company.
Headquartered in Bengaluru with offices in New York City, London, and Hong Kong, Amagi is a next-generation media technology company providing cloud-based managed broadcast services and targeted advertising platforms to customers, worldwide. Amagi enables TV networks to create a complete broadcast workflow on the cloud and deliver content over satellite, cable, IPTV or OTT (Over-The-Top) platforms. Using Amagi's patented technologies, advertisers can target audiences at a regional level across traditional TV and OTT multiscreen platforms. Amagi has today scaled up to be one of India's largest TV ad networks, playing around a million ad seconds every month on premium TV channels. With numerous installations of Amagi's playout and edge insertion servers around the world, they are already a global force in the broadcasting technology domain. Amagi has deployments in over 30 countries for leading TV networks and is India's largest TV Ad network supporting more than 3,000 brands.
The growth capital from this round of funding will enable Amagi to expand its targeted advertising platforms globally, enter new international markets for its cloud-based managed broadcast services and introduce a host of products to cater to the various needs of TV broadcasters and OTT networks.
Baskar Subramanian, Co-founder of Amagi, said, "Emerald Media, has a strong understanding of the TV Broadcast industry and the OTT space and we are very happy to partner with them. Their domain expertise and regional and global media relationships will help us further leverage the transition of the TV broadcasting industry to the cloud and expand our international footprint."
Rajesh Kamat, Managing Director of Emerald Media, said, "Amagi has harnessed the transformative power of technology (both hardware and software) to change the way TV networks and brands perceive content delivery and monetization. Their cutting-edge technology is disruptive and the need of the hour. Emerald Media will assist Amagi in driving this change in the broadcast and digital industry by providing a distinctive combination of capital, domain knowledge and management bandwidth."
Paul Aiello, Managing Director of Emerald Media, added, "Baskar, Srinivasan and Srividhya are the pioneers of targeted-TV advertisement in India. Amagi's cloud-based managed services and monetization solutions, with high degree of workflow automation make TV networks efficient and future-ready compared to traditional broadcast models. With this investment, we expect Amagi to further expand its reach in the global market."
Prior to this round, Amagi has raised US$25 million from Premji Invest, Mayfield India and Nadathur Holdings.
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About Emerald Media
Emerald Media is a Pan-Asian company backed by KKR to invest in the fast-growing media and entertainment industries across Asia for which KKR has committed up to $300mm from its KKR Asian Fund II. Emerald Media is led by industry veterans Rajesh Kamat and Paul Aiello, supported by an experienced team of investment and operating executives. Paul and Rajesh together have a combined experience of more than 30 years in the industry and bring a unique blend of operational and investment acumen to their business approach. Emerald Media has made key investments by acquiring significant stake in YuppTV, one of the world's leading OTT video platforms for South Asian content, and now with this announcement, Amagi Media Labs, India's leading targeted-TV advertisement solutions firm.
Emerald Media, primarily focuses on providing growth capital to media, entertainment and digital media companies. The company looks to invest approximately $15-75mn per investment to acquire control or significant minority positions in growing public and private media companies.
About Amagi Media Labs
Amagi is the world's first cloud-based managed broadcast services and targeted advertising solutions company. Amagi brings simplicity, advanced automation, and transparency to the entire broadcast operations, be it for traditional TV or next-gen multiscreen platforms. Amagi has deployments in over 30 countries, enabling TV networks to launch, operate, and monetize channels anywhere in the world. Amagi also provides targeted advertising solutions to 3,000 brands in India, shaping the future of TV advertising. Amagi is headquartered in Bengaluru with offices in New York City, London, Hong Kong, New Delhi, and Mumbai.
Amagi has been honored with the IBC Innovation Award for Content Delivery in 2015, for their work with AMC Networks International (Sundance Channel Global). Additionally, for their ad-tech solution to NDTV 24×7, and has won the ASBU BroadcastPro Middle East Innovative Project Award. Amagi has also been recognized as the winner in the media and entertainment category by Deloitte Technology Fast 500 Asia Pacific. The brand has also been recognized among India's top 50 Brands in the country by Industry veterans and advertising and broadcasting fraternity in India.
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