Key Points
- Harmonic will sell its video business to MediaKind for $145 million, positioning the company to focus exclusively on broadband technology.
- The sale supports Harmonic’s vCMTS and fiber expansion strategy as operators advance DOCSIS 4.0 and BEAD-funded deployments.
- MediaKind gains a video unit with growing SaaS revenue, while several hundred Harmonic employees will transition as part of the deal.
Harmonic will divest its video business to infrastructure firm MediaKind in a $145 million cash transaction, the companies announced this week.
The deal marks the beginning of a shift for Harmonic as a business, which will concentrate on its broadband technology operation once the transaction closes, the companies affirmed on Monday.
Several hundred employees are expected to transition to MediaKind as part of the sale, which is subject to regulatory approvals and a French employee works council review. The companies expect it to close during the first half of 2026.
Harmonic’s decision to sell the unit comes less than a year after the company pulled the business off the market. At the time, executives said improving financial performance and scalable opportunities made a sale less compelling, though they left open the possibility of revisiting offers. The video division includes a declining hardware segment and a growing software-as-a-service operation that delivered record revenue last quarter.
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In a statement, Harmonic CEO Nimrod Ben-Natan said the move will simplify the company’s structure and support investment in its broadband business, including its virtual cable modem termination system used by major cable operators. Ben-Natan also said proceeds from the deal will support Harmonic’s $200 million share repurchase program.
Comcast and Charter are Harmonic’s largest broadband customers, with Comcast accounting for 43 percent of the company’s third-quarter revenue, according to Light Reading. Both operators are advancing hybrid fiber-cable upgrades that rely on Harmonic’s vCMTS platform, remote PHY devices and other distributed access architecture components.
Industry analysts say Harmonic is positioned to benefit from new spending tied to DOCSIS 4.0 and the federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment initiative. BEAD deployments are expected to ramp up in 2026, with operators including Comcast and Charter receiving awards for more than 100,000 locations. Those builds are projected to increase demand for remote optical line terminals, software licenses and broadband access tools.
For MediaKind, the acquisition adds a business that generated $51.9 million in third-quarter revenue, including $16.1 million from SaaS operations. MediaKind CEO Allen Broome said the combined business will produce more than $100 million in annual recurring revenue and strengthen the company’s cloud-based video portfolio.
On Monday, Harmonic reaffirmed its forecast for the fourth financial quarter (Q4) of the year, which calls for revenue between $133 million and $147 million. Broadband revenue is expected to reach up to $95 million, while video revenue is projected between $48 million and $52 million.
