Shares in Pace Micro Technology, Europe's leading digital TV set-top-boxmaker, closed up 24.5p at 959p yesterday. The price change values the company at £2bn, and came in the wake of a three-year deal with Comcast Cable Communications, the third largest cable company in the US.

The deal means Pace will be the only manufacturer supplying cable set-top boxes to both Motorola and Scientific-Atlantic, which combined control 95% of the cable infrastructure in the US. First delivery of the high specification 400,000-unit order is expected at the end of 2001.

Pace chief executive Malcolm Miller said: "This deal means we can reach the broad US market. It builds on the deal we did with Time Warner last year, and I would hope to sign at least one more US deal by the end of the year."

The deal follows strong interim results in December which valued Pace at £1.8bn, with half-year turnover up by 60% to £157m and pre-tax profits up by 53% to £12.7m. In May, broker Credit Suisse First Boston raised forecasts for year-end, pre-tax profits by 7% to £25.7m. Final results are expected in July.

Pace had a series of set-backs after its 1996 float, including falling sales and share price as the market waited for digital technology to take off. In 1998 the share price stayed below 100p despite new contracts with ONdigital, BSkyB, Cable & Wireless and NTL. Turnover and profits have had a bumper year, however, following the boom in digital broadcast technology.

One analyst said yesterday that, as the speed of digital roll-out accelerates, "Pace Micro has proven again it can develop and integrate its technology and open new markets. It is pretty encouraging."