Broadcasting technology companies Snell & Wilcox and Pro-Bel have merged in a £72 million deal, providing a partial exit for Snell’s VC backer.

Broadcasting technology companies Snell & Wilcox and Pro-Bel have merged in a £72 million deal, providing a partial exit for Snell’s backer Advent Venture Partners.

Advent retains a stake in the merged company while returning some cash to shareholders, according to general partner Peter Baines. Lloyds TSB Development Capital put in new money to support the deal.

Simon Derry and Graham Pitman, respectively the chief executive officers of Snell & Wilcox and Pro-Bel, have become CEO and deputy chairman of the merged company.

Snell & Wilcox was loss-making before Advent acquired the company. According to Baines, the firm ‘turned an established but undermanaged company into a bigger and more profitable business’.