Livingbridge Announces Sale Of disguise

Livingbridge, one of the UK’s leading mid-market private equity investors, today announces the sale of disguise, the global leader in Extended Reality (xR¹) technology, to The Carlyle Group.

Livingbridge are re-investing alongside management. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 2000, disguise is a technology platform which enables creatives and technologists to imagine, create and deliver spectacular visual experiences. The platform combines real-time 3D visualisation software with high-performance media server hardware. The company is one of the main providers of xR and virtual production technology to film & TV studios, broadcasters, corporates and the e-gaming sector globally.

disguise’s new technology has been instrumental in spearheading immersive content delivery for key projects like the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards and Eurosport’s coverage of the US Open, live performances from artists like Billie Eilish and Katy Perry, in- game concerts like J.Balvin in Fortnite, corporate presentations from Siemens and SAP, and on-set virtual production from notable VFX studios like Framestore and Orca Studios. Since the launch of the technology in the first half of 2020, 150 disguise xR stages have been built in 35 countries and disguise xR has powered more than 200 shows.

disguise is now ideally placed to capitalise on the significant market opportunity for virtual production technology, a trend that has only accelerated during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Since its inception, disguise has firmly established itself as a pioneer in the industry, earning numerous accolades for its innovations. In 2021 alone, disguise has secured a spot in the Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200 and won the AV Manufacturer/ Developer of the Year 2021 award.

Livingbridge first invested in disguise in an MBO in 2017 through its Enterprise 2 fund, having recognised its unique technology and significant international opportunities. Since then, Livingbridge has helped disguise accelerate its global growth, the business having delivered products and services to 80 countries and disguise now has significant clients across EMEA, Asia-Pacific and the Americas.

Livingbridge has also supported disguise in a rapid expansion of the team, as the business has more than doubled the number of ‘disguisers’ from 55 to 120 employees.

Pete Clarke at Livingbridge, said: “disguise is a great business, led by a passionate and impressive team. Since our investment in 2017, we have supported disguise in its international growth plans and in building out a diverse and talented leadership team. The accelerated launch of the xR technology during the Covid lockdown of 2020 was a remarkable achievement by the team and the response from the global virtual production and broadcast market has been phenomenal. We are delighted to continue to be an investor alongside Carlyle as disguise enters the next stage of its exciting growth and development.”

Fernando Kufer, CEO at disguise, said: “I am pleased that we will be able to retain our relationship with Livingbridge as we join forces with The Carlyle Group, and I look forward to working with our partners to fulfil disguise’s potential.”

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1. Extended Reality is an umbrella term used to describe immersive technologies that can merge the physical and virtual worlds. It includes augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) alongside others