Barco acquires leading 3D medical imaging company Voxar®
Barco strengthens its image display offering with 3D clinical software through strategic expansion
KORTRIJK, BELGIUM, 15 September 2004 – Barco announced today it has signed an agreement to acquire Voxar, the leading 3D medical imaging software company, based in Edinburgh, Scotland.
For Barco, the acquisition is a major breakthrough in the area of advanced 3D radiology imaging, the fastest growing segment in the medical imaging market. The acquisition creates substantial synergies for the companies, including an enviable combined global customer base and a complementary high-growth portfolio of products and solutions. The total transaction cost for Barco is valued at € 39 million.
Through the acquisition, Barco confirms its growth strategy in the medical imaging market and taps into a 3D revenue pool estimated by Frost & Sullivan to be worth € 1,1 billion in 2004, growing to € 1,8 billion in 2008. The value of the software component will outgrow the double-digit growth of this market.
Piet Candeel, Vice President Barco Medical Imaging Systems explains, "In today's Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS) business and other medical application domains, 3D medical imaging is one of the segments with the highest market potential. Voxar's portfolio of first-rate 3D clinical software solutions makes up a very complementary extension to Barco's current product range of high-grade display systems for PACS and modality imaging domains such as CT(1) , MRI(2) , PET(3) and ultrasound."
He continues, "This acquisition will open up new sales and business opportunities. We will be able to cross-sell to the customers we have in common, including the major players in the global PACS market."
Voxar's software enhances radiologists' productivity by translating the huge number of 2-dimensional slices, generated by modern medical scanners, into easy to interpret 3-dimensional images.
The acquisition of Voxar will enable Barco to offer PACS and modality vendors comprehensive advanced visualization solutions including all the components that a doctor requires to rapidly visualise 3D medical scan images:
· Advanced 3D clinical applications software (Voxar 3DTM and Voxar Colonscreen®)
· Advanced medical display systems
Voxar will be fully integrated into Barco's Medical Imaging business unit and become the worldwide center of expertise for 3D software products. All of Voxar’s 80 associates, including the current management team, will join the new company structure. CEO Andrew Bissell will take up a broader responsibility as global Chief Strategic Officer (CSO) of Barco Medical Imaging Systems. By the end of 2004, Voxar will have doubled its sales compared to 2001 to € 7 million and is expected to become cash flow positive in early 2005. Accelerated double-digit growth is anticipated in the next few years. By 2007, sales level is expected to grow to € 50 million.
Voxar, founded in 1995, is a pioneer and market leader in the field of 3D imaging and integration with PACS. The company has achieved a leading position in this new and fast-growing segment. Voxar's strategic partnerships with over thirty of the world's leading PACS vendors mean that Voxar 3D software is available as an integrated option on over 50% of the world's PACS workstations.
Andrew Bissell, Voxar's founder and CEO said, "Joining Barco is a significant step forward for Voxar and enables us to substantially advance our vision of ensuring that Voxar 3D software is available on every clinical screen, world wide. Barco and Voxar share a common philosophy of bringing customer-centered innovations to market via partnerships with the world’s leading OEMs and distributors.” He added, “Our combined technologies address doctors' needs for advanced 3D clinical applications integrated right into the heart of their PACS workstations and the demand for high-quality display of large medical scans with real-time 3D navigation and orientation."
Bob Pettigrew, Chairman of the Board of Voxar, confirms: “All stock holders support this acquisition. It is an important and necessary step in the development of Voxar.”
Voxar's global customer base includes medical industry leaders such as Agfa, Fuji Medical Systems, Philips and Siemens.
In the 2003 Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu European Technology Fast 500, Voxar was named the 14th fastest-growing technology company and the fastest-growing 'healthcare IT' company in Europe. The company holds 6 patents in the area of medical imaging with a number of pending applications. Voxar has received CE (Conformité Européenne) Mark certification and market clearance by the US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) for all of its products. Voxar is ISO 9001 certified.
About Barco
Barco, an international company headquartered in Kortrijk, Belgium, provides visualization and display solutions for professional markets. 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 Euronext Brussels and is a BEL 20 and a Next 150 company.
http://www.barco.com
About Voxar
Voxar is the acknowledged leader in 3D for PACS. The company develops 3D medical imaging software, which allows the rapid display and analysis of 3D medical scan images from CT, MRI, PET and Ultrasound for scanner modality workstations or embedded into PACS. Voxar's headquarters are in Edinburgh, Scotland, with its North American operation headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. An ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 13485:1996 certified company; Voxar's products have FDA 510(k) market clearance and CE Mark certification. Voxar holds 6 patents with a number of pending applications.
(1) Computed Tomography
(2) Magnetic Resonance Imaging
(3) Positron Emission Tomography
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