Highview and Firstlight buy Quickplay

Highview Capital and Firstlight Media are acquiring Toronto-based Quickplay, a provider of managed solutions for distributing video content to IP-connected devices. The seller is AT&T Inc. No financial terms were disclosed. As part of the deal, Firstlight, a Toronto-based software company, will merge with Quickplay.

PRESS RELEASE

TORONTO & LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Highview Capital, LLC (“Highview”) today announced that it has partnered with Firstlight Media (“Firstlight”), a proprietary user engagement platform that enables OTT video and entertainment providers to optimize their user experience and drive increased monetization of their content, to acquire Quickplay from AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T). As part of the transaction, Firstlight will merge with Quickplay, the leading provider of managed solutions for distributing video content to IP-connected devices.

Firstlight’s Founder & CEO André Christensen, whose previous leadership roles include serving as Quickplay’s Chief Operating Officer and AT&T’s Head of Product Development, will be CEO of the combined business. The new company, which will continue to operate under the Firstlight name and brand, will be uniquely positioned as a leading provider of managed content delivery services and integrated user engagement software for OTT video distribution platforms.

Under Christensen’s leadership, Firstlight will have the opportunity to partner with a broad universe of entertainment companies, ranging from TV providers and media companies to premium cable networks, sports leagues, independent studios and niche players, to provide an end-to-end service for optimizing each step of the OTT video delivery process – including collection, management, distribution, video consumption and user engagement.

“The ever-evolving content landscape is creating strong and increasing consumer demand for streaming video content – and content providers need to deliver a seamless viewing experience to keep their audiences engaged,” said Christensen. “With Quickplay’s best-in-class content delivery capabilities and Firstlight’s next-generation, AI-driven personalization and engagement software, the combined company will offer its customers a true carrier grade, tried and tested, “one stop shop” solution suite for OTT premium video delivery. We are thrilled to bring Quickplay’s talented team of video engineers on board and look forward to working together to deepen relationships with our existing customers and expand our reach with new customers.”

“Firstlight serves an industry facing a major inflection point with the proliferation of digital entertainment,” said Ryan McCarthy, Co-Founder of Highview. “We are excited to leverage our industry expertise, operational resources and corporate carveout experience to bring two category leaders together and help Firstlight meaningfully grow its customer base.”

“The combination of Firstlight and Quickplay creates significant opportunity to capitalize on the evolving consumer demands reshaping the entertainment landscape,” said Steve Russell, Principal at Highview. “The Highview team has known André for years, and we are thrilled to partner with this outstanding management team to accelerate future growth.”