[Satellite News 08-19-09] The Tiernan Video product line, which has a long history in the broadcast community, has traded hands to another new owner — International Datacasting Corp. (IDC). The Ottawa-based hardware and software manufacturer acquired a total of 20 select product lines and related technology, including the Legacy Comstream line, from Comtech Telecommunication for more than $2 million in cash.
   Tiernan formerly was under the Radyne brand and in August 2008, was acquired by Comtech.
   IDC will integrate about 30 Tiernan employees into its operations, including Brian Wilson, Comtech Tiernan’s head of engineering, who will remain in his position under IDC. “The approach that we have been taking from day one in forming this deal over the last month is business as usual,” Edward DiCarlo, vice president of sales and marketing, told Satellite News. “The products will still be branded Tiernan, now under the IDC name. If you are a Tiernan customer, you are still going to deal with the same people you dealt with before. Damon Semprebon [Comtech Teirnan’s vice president of business development] will remain at the head of its customer service and Edward Triebell will remain in charge of sales. The Tiernan research and development center along with its support service will also stay intact.”
    IDC spokeswoman Tracy Trottier told Satellite News that IDC CEO Ron Clifton is at Tiernan’s San Diego headquarters, evaluating operations, conducting quarterly reviews, speaking with employees and trying to alleviate the stress of an acquisition. “The people at Tiernan are now very excited about this, just as we are. They are happy that a company that understands their history and the importance of their products has acquired them. Comtech would not have sold the company to a buyer who wasn’t in line with their core values or approach,” she said.
Comtech EF Data has agreed to continue manufacturing certain products and components in the Tiernan product line while IDC transitions manufacturing into its own operations.
    Trottier explained the move as a combination between IDC’s efforts to expand its portfolio and Comtech’s desire to focus on its growing modem and backhaul and government businesses. “The broadcast market is not a market that Comtech was particularly interested in, so they looked for a good partner or purchaser for the Tiernan product line. They were very mindful of the legacy of Tiernan Video. Comtech has become a military-focused organization. They’ve done very well with that business, but we’re a broadcast-focused organization and I think broadcasters need to work with broadcast-focused business models. As a broadcaster, we’re also used to dealing with special requests and custom orders from our customers and distributors. Comtech understood this as well and this was the primary reason for the deal.”
    DiCarlo said IDC’s size was a better fit for Teirnan. “For a much larger company like Comtech, with focuses in several different businesses, operations like Tiernan, which are heavily customer service-based, were probably becoming losses. The size of our company allows us to deal more intimately with broadcasters who need comprehensive support services,” said DiCarlo.
    On top of the Comtech Tiernan product line rights, IDC also maintains the original equipment manufacturer reseller partnerships related to the Tiernan-related product lines being acquired. DiCarlo said that its new synergy with Tiernan would enable the company to add products for both its original customers and its new Teirnan base. “We can bring new offerings to Tiernan broadcast customers, such as our 3-D encoders, if the networks want to add a 3-D HD channel. As our focus is more on engineering innovation, we’re planning on adding greater functionality to some of these products,” he said.
    Trottier said IDC is hoping to use its expanded customer base to promote upgrades to broadcast networks. “As the bandwidth glut continues, we will explain both the economic and technological value and rationale of upgrading from MPEG-2 to MPEG-4 as well as migrating to DVB-S2 combined with MPEG-4 AVC to our new and existing customers at the networks,” she said.
    In an announcement following the transaction, Fred Kornberg, president and CEO of Comtech, said the sale of the Tiernan product lines, along with its decision to no longer market certain fiberglass antenna products, announced Aug. 19, were part of an effort to cut company costs. “As fiscal 2009 came to a close, we initiated these actions to further focus our efforts on product lines in which we have clear market leadership positions," he said. As a result, Comtech will record a pre-tax charge to earnings in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009.