Barco completes acquisition of projectiondesign® and strengthens its position in mid-segment projection technology

“The acquisition of projectiondesign® plays a key role in Barco’s strategy to offer high-class projection technology to both large and mid-sized venues,” says Eric Van Zele, President and CEO of Barco. “Barco and projectiondesign® complement each other on the levels of technology, product portfolios and geographic coverage. Thanks to this acquisition, we can expand our portfolios for the Simulation, Virtual Reality and Corporate AV markets as we continue to leverage our global sales coverage and our channels to grow this business, particularly in Asia and Latin America.” The price paid for the remaining shares is in line with what was paid for the first tranche.

Shared philosophy and entrepreneurial culture
“We are very pleased to become part of the Barco family, and this agreement is a significant step forward for our company,” comments Jørn Eriksen, CEO of projectiondesign®. “We share a common philosophy and entrepreneurial culture, driven by a focus on innovation and customer satisfaction. Joining forces with Barco, a market leader in projection technology, enables us to expand our geographic footprint and allows us to tap into Barco’s global sales team and channel portfolio.”

Integration process
The general integration process has already been initiated on several levels – such as procurement, operations and sales. “We have already integrated the Barco and projectiondesign® sales teams and cross-selling within our existing sales channels has started,” explains Wim Buyens, Senior Vice President of Barco’s Projection Division. “As the integration process is taking shape, we will position our external activities such as trade shows under the banner of ‘joining forces’ – similar to what we communicated at the ISE trade show in Amsterdam.”

State-of-the-art projection technology
Projectiondesign® develops and manufactures compact projectors for a variety of professional markets including training and simulation, visitor attractions (museums, theme parks), scientific visualization, collaboration rooms (Corporate AV) and control rooms. The company’s projectors are equipped with high-quality optics, high resolution and LED illumination, and feature quiet operation. The company custom-designs and develops all optics, hardware, software and industrial design for each projector model in-house. Founded in 2001, projectiondesign® is headquartered in Fredrikstad, Norway, and has 17 international offices. The company employs about 200 people and posted sales of approximately 60 million euro in 2012.

About projectiondesign®
Projectiondesign® is a Norwegian company that designs, manufactures and markets a range of high- performance projectors and supporting systems for professional, business and consumer applications. Among its core markets are high-resolution scientific visualization, visual training and simulation, medical imaging, broadcast and post production, public media and entertainment. Projectiondesign® is located in Fredrikstad, Norway, with representatives in more than 17 offices throughout the world.

About Barco
Barco, a global technology company, designs and develops visualization products for a variety of selected professional markets. Barco has its own facilities for Sales & Marketing, Customer Support, R&D and Manufacturing in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific. Barco (NYSE Euronext Brussels: BAR) is active in more than 90 countries with about 3,900 employees worldwide. Barco posted sales of 1.156 billion euro in 2012.

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