FILE PHOTO: Yamaha Corporation buildings in Japan, November 11, 2017; not a transaction event. Photo: Kenchan / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped and resized. Adapted image: CC BY-SA 4.0.
Yamaha has agreed to buy Disguise, a London-based provider of software and media servers used in live entertainment, for consideration of £215 million as the musical-instrument and audio company expands into video, lighting and other event technologies.
The deal, announced by Yamaha on Friday, November 13, would give Yamaha all shares in Butterfly Topco, the holding company that indirectly owns Disguise. The sellers include shareholders linked to Carlyle, which holds a majority of Disguise’s voting rights.
The acquisition is scheduled to close in December 2026. It has not been completed, and Yamaha said the final consideration is expected to be determined at closing.
Beyond instruments and audio equipment
Disguise supplies software and media servers that help design and control event productions, connecting video, audio, lighting and media from pre-production through synchronized playback and real-time control.
Yamaha said Disguise’s products and services are available in more than 100 countries through a network of more than 400 partners. Its customers operate live events, sports facilities, theme parks and immersive entertainment venues.
The acquisition is part of Yamaha’s effort to build software and services alongside its hardware businesses. Yamaha plans to combine Disguise’s event technologies with its audio systems, product development and sales network, including expanding sales in Japan and elsewhere in Asia.
What the price includes
Yamaha’s transaction filing lists the £215 million consideration as covering ordinary shares and shareholder loan notes. It gives an equivalent of about ¥46.1 billion, using its stated exchange rate of ¥214 to the pound.
Including estimated advisory fees, Yamaha put the total at approximately ¥47.7 billion. Separately, it expects to pay about ¥3.2 billion to repay bank borrowings connected with the transaction. Those amounts are not all part of the headline share-and-loan-note consideration.
Yamaha said it was still reviewing the acquisition’s effect on its consolidated financial results and would disclose further information as required.
JBizNews Desk | New York
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