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Keywords Studios acquired audio description services company Descriptive Video Works for CAD 3.2m in cash and shares deal.
Founded in 2003 and based in Vancouver, Canada, Descriptive Video Works provided audio description services for broadcast and over the top (OTT) streamed programming, feature films, documentaries and live action series as well as live coverage of prime time events such as the Summer and Winter Olympics for NBC.
Descriptive Video Works worked primarily with broadcasters and streaming media providers in Canada and the US such as NBC Universal, CBS, CBC, Viacom and A&E Networks and is an approved Netflix Post-Production Partner (NP3) for English Audio Description Services.
The two companies collaborated on a transcreation project last year, in which a major video game franchise was made ready for OTT streaming.
'The acquisition of DVW also provides Keywords with its first studio in Vancouver, British Columbia, a city with very active involvement in film, television and video games and we hope to grow our presence there accordingly,' Andrew Day, CEO of Keywords Studios.
In the year to 30 November 2018, Descriptive Video Works generated adjusted profit before tax of CAD 0.66m on revenues of CAD 2.2m.
Keywords acquired Descriptive Video Works from its founder, Diane Johnson, for a total of CAD 3.2m, of which CAD 2.24m would be paid in cash on completion and the rest through the issue of 35,560 new ordinary shares in Keywords.