Harris to buy Aastra for US$35 million

MELBOURNE, Fla. – Broadcast equipment maker Harris Corporation (which bought Leitch Technologies in 2005) has agreed to purchase Aastra Digital Video, which develops and markets video networking, encoding, decoding, and multiplexing technologies used by television broadcasters, telecommunications providers and satellite networks. The heart of Aastra is its VideoRunner multi-service video networking system. The company has been a supplier to Harris of video networking products for the past eight years, sold under the Flexicoder and NetVX brand names. Aastra Digital Video is based in Bridgewater, NJ, with approximately 35 employees and its customers include Turner Broadcasting, the National Football League, DIRECTV,...