Imagine Communications, a portfolio company of The Gores Group and a provider of software and networking solutions serving the global media and entertainment markets, has acquired Digital Rapids (News - Alert), an innovator in IP and file-based media processing solutions and software-defined workflow management technologies.

The acquisition creates one of the industry's most robust TV Everywhere portfolios, enhances software-defined workflow management and multiscreen encoding and transcoding capabilities.

"Imagine Communications is laser-focused on leading the industry to a future defined by IP, software, the cloud and TV Everywhere, with an architecture vision for delivering and monetizing multi-screen content," said Charlie Vogt (News - Alert), CEO of Imagine Communications.

"We have made major investments in developing our TV Everywhere portfolio, MediaCentral platform, and MultiService SDN frameworks to deliver service-oriented, software-based architectures for our customers.”

Vogt also noted the addition of Digital Rapids' advancements in software-based workflow management and transcoding strategically complements the company’s pillars of innovation and rounds out the company’s capabilities.

The company’s expert team, which is based just miles from the company’s development center in Toronto, brings a rich history in pioneering software solutions for high-end media processing applications that strengthens the company’s TV Everywhere business and company.

Officials with Imagine Communications claimed that this acquisition will also create the world's most comprehensive portfolio of processing and compression solutions for TV Everywhere.

Rapids' software-based workflow management, transcoding and encoding solutions will integrate with Imagine Communications' existing mezzanine quality origination encoding, adaptive bit rate (ABR) transcoding technology and content delivery network software to create an end-to-end, TV Everywhere solution for optimized file-based and live video stream distribution across a variety of platforms. 

"Imagine Communications is strategically positioned to transform the media and entertainment industry through innovations in IP, software-defined workflows and virtualization," said Brick Eksten, president and CEO of Digital Rapids.

Eksten noted that their senior management team understands that flexible, software-defined workflows are essential for media companies to efficiently scale to new opportunities and quickly launch new, differentiated services.

“We are thrilled to join the Imagine Communications team in empowering customers by not only smoothing their transition from hardware-based infrastructure to software, but by also fueling a next-generation approach to software that puts the customer in control of advances in technology,” said Eksten.