Audio Video News

In a move intended to broaden its home theater product line, Projectavision, Inc. of New York announced January 21 that it has signed a definitive agreement to purchase substantially all of the assets of Vidikron Industries, S.p.A., including its US subsidiary, Vidikron of America. Vidikron, a privately held company founded 18 years ago and headquartered in Milan, Italy, is a manufacturer and marketer of high-end projection systems for the home-theater consumer and commercial markets, and serves customers in over 30 countries worldwide.

Under the terms of the agreement, which is subject to final approval, Projectavision has made an initial payment for the company and expects the deal to close in approximately 90 days.

Vidikron, which posted sales of approximately $17 million in 1997, designs, assembles, and markets high-end projection video-display products based on cathode ray tube (CRT) and liquid crystal display (LCD) technologies. In addition, Vidikron recently introduced a new product line based on the digital light-processing (DLP) technology developed by Texas Instruments, which is the same technology that is used by Projectavision in its Digital Home Theater.

According to Martin Holleran, CEO of Projectavision, "We believe that the acquisition of Vidikron, a consistently profitable company, represents a major step forward in achieving our long-term strategy of becoming the premier developer, marketer, and licenser of high-end video display and home-theater products." The Vidikron management team will remain with the company after completion of the proposed acquisition.

Flavio Peralda, Chairman and President of Vidikron Industries, and Chairman of Vidikron of America said that Projectavision's new relationship with Vidikron will provide the funds and resources necessary for Vidikron to continue growing while retaining its leadership position in video projection as digital and high-definiton TVs play an ever more significant role.

Projectavision's Digital Home Theater is a 100% digital projection unit that combines a large front- or rear-screen VGA or SVGA computer display, a 60" rear-projection television, and removable front projectors that project beyond 240" diagonally. It is the first consumer product to use Texas Instruments' 2-chip DLP technology.