Real-time video streaming company Haivision Solutions is going public on the Toronto Stock Exchange for $30 million.

The Saint-Laurent based organization told La Presse that the global pandemic essentially forced decision-makers’ hands when it came down to going public.

“The pandemic has accelerated the decision of executives to invest in remote working, remote production and remote broadcasting,” CEO Mirko Wicha told La Presse. “It will continue. It changes the way of doing business for many companies. We can see it.”

The company will put up 5,000,000 common shares at a price of $6.00 per share. Haivision will use the new cash to fund acquisitions and to pursue organic growth. Previously, it had raised $8 million in venture capital.

Haivision offers real-time video streaming and networking solutions via high quality, low latency, secure live video at a global scale. It’s cloud and “intelligent edge technologies” enable businesses to engage audiences, enhance collaboration and support decision making.

Haivision saw profits grow from $55 million in 2017 to $74 million last year, and is expected to exceed $80 million for the fiscal 2020. Wicha told La Presse that the company wants to triple profits to $250 million.

“When exactly that will happen depends on how fast we can grow, and which companies we are going to buy,” he told the website.

The company previously acquired six companies since its founding in 2004. The most recent was Teltoo, last summer.

And while Wicha acknowledged that revenue growth isn’t as fast as recent IPOs like DoorDash or Airbnb, profits have reliably grown. Notable clients for the company include: Comcast, Microsoft, Riot Games, ESPN, the Pentagon, and NASA. The NHL, NFL, NBA, NCAA and Major League Baseball also all use Haivision’s technology for video replay.

“Mission-critical real-time IP video is transforming the way organizations operate and promotes better informed decision making. Haivision is at the heart of the accelerated adoption of IP video across all industries,” said CEO Mirko Wicha. “Listing on the TSX heralds in the next phase of our evolution, will continue to drive our innovation in live IP video and cloud networking and will accelerate our growth.”

The company will trade today under the symbol “HAI”.

The company is headquartered in both Montreal and Chicago with offices, sales, and support located throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia.

Wicha’s personal story is fascinating. According to the Globe and Mail, the founder fled Czechoslovakia with his family to Egypt in 1968, just before the Russian invasion. They immigrated to Canada one year later when Mr. Wicha was eight, first arriving in Toronto and then settling in Halifax, where he grew up. He came out of retirement at 52 to lead Haivision.

(Main Image: The Globe and Mail)