The former president of US satellite broadcaster Dish Network looks likely to play an active role in the management of Harris Broadcast Communications, after the broadcast unit was bought by The Gores Group for £140m last week.

The deal ended months of speculation and uncertainty about the manufacturer of asset-management platforms, playout systems, test and measurement tools, and signal processing kit.

There are no plans to change the Harris Broadcast Communications executive team, which includes senior vice-president of global sales and services Richard Scott and president Harris Morris, and the firm’s product line-up is unlikely to be affected by the sale.

According to Scott, Gores adviser and former president of Dish Network Carl Vogel also looks set to play an “important role” in the company.

Scott said: “He was part of the process and involved in the acquisition, so I would expect and look forward to his involvement in the management of the business, but in exactly what role is up to Gores.”

“Gores sees the value in the breadth of the portfolio, so there are no concerns that certain segments will face immediate action. That’s not the intent.”

The division also has the option to retain the Harris brand for “several years”.

Scott said details of negotiations would remain confidential, but that a mixture of industry firms and private equity investors expressed an interest in the business. 

One firm mentioned in relation to the sale by analysts was Grass Valley, after chief executive Alain Andreoli revealed that the company had access to £1.9bn acquisition fund from its private equity backers Francisco Partners.

Scott said negotiations with interested parties would remain confidential, but that “some [of the shortlisted firms] had existing interests in our core areas of business and some may even have had competing products.”

He described Gores as a hybrid of the two. “Gores has the strength of being an equity-backed firm with a large capital pool for investments in strategic growth plan, but they also have significant operational experience and domain knowledge.”

Once the deal completes early next year Harris Corp will concentrate on its core activity as a defence contractor.