Barco acquires Folsom Research, Inc., thus further strengthening its leadership in the Events market and its presence in the USA
KORTRIJK, January 6, 2004. Barco announces the acquisition of Folsom Research, Inc., based in Sacramento, California. Folsom, which employs 75 associates, is a profitable company with USD 16.5 million sales and a book-to-bill ratio larger than 1. Folsom’s product lines cover solutions for image processing, image communication and image functionality & interactivity. In these dedicated markets Folsom has a 30 % share in the USA and 17 % worldwide. As Barco has only had 4 % market share in these segments until now, it is clear that this acquisition means a fast leap forward for Barco in providing total solutions beyond displays-only functionalities.
By far the largest part of Folsom’s sales are realized in the Events (Rental & Staging) market, which makes it a perfect match for Barco, as today Barco already dominates two segments of this market with its LED displays and its large venue projectors. The acquisition of Folsom offers Barco the opportunity to become an important player also in the segment of solutions beyond displays, thus enabling further growth in the Events market. This is fully in line with the strategic goal of enlarging Barco’s presence in each of the markets it is active in.
Since Folsom is also active in Radar, Presentation and Simulation applications, this acquisition allows for fruitful synergies with other business units of Barco also. At the same time this increases the total sales of Barco in North America, another of Barco’s strategic goals, and enhances the natural hedging position of Barco versus the US dollar.
About Barco
Barco, an international company headquartered in Kortrijk, Belgium, is active in three key areas of imaging technology. Barco designs and develops solutions for large screen visualization, display solutions for life-critical applications, and systems for visual inspection. Barco has a network of subsidiaries, distributors and agents in almost 100 countries. Barco is quoted on Brussels/Euronext and is a BEL 20 and a Next 150 company.
For more information, please contact
