Barco signs agreement with Italian Itema to divest its division BarcoVision
Kortrijk, Belgium, 19 July 2007. Barco nv today announces the signing of an agreement for the acquisition of its division BarcoVision by Itema Group from Bergamo, Italy, pending the approval of antitrust authorities. The value of the transaction is 72 million euro. The precise impact on Barco’s results and further information will be given at the closing of the acquisition, which is expected before end 2007.
All the division’s operations are part of the acquisition agreement. They involve the operations of BarcoVision in Belgium, Gebrüder Loepfe AG in Switzerland and Italy, BarcoVision Ltd in the United Kingdom, Barco Sedo GmbH in Germany and BarcoVision LLC in the USA. The Belgian manufacturing activities will be gradually transferred to other manufacturing plants of the Itema organization. As a result of this about 40 employees, currently involved with operations in Belgium, will move to other divisions of Barco, supporting their continued growth.
The division BarcoVision, active in the markets of textile and manufacturing execution systems, realized sales of euro 55.5 million in 2006 and an EBIT margin of 11.3%. The division counted 350 employees at the end of 2006.
For this transaction Barco was advised by ING Corporate Finance and law firm Baker & McKenzie.
See also press release by Itema: http://www.itemagroup.com/en-US/pressreleases/Pages/default.aspx
About Itema
ITEMA is the world’s number one industrial textile machinery group, set up in December 2001 out of a conglomeration of leading firms in the various sectors of this market. ITEMA’s current structure is based on 8 companies (Promatech, Sultex, Itema Shanghai, First, Savio, Istma, Eutron and Steiger) operating in 4 macro business areas: weaving and loom accessories, spinning, electronics and knitting. These companies operate under the umbrella of ITEMA Holding, all with a reputation as cutting-edge, high-tech firms with specific yet complementary know how: in fact, synergy and vertical integration are ITEMA’s strong points. Multi-business companies operating on foreign markets guarantee a global presence. Companies such as ITEMA America, ITEMA Asia and ITEMA India offer customer service and commercial offices, proving that the Group pays special attention to customer needs and customer satisfaction.
Itema currently counts about 2,500 employees, had total sales of euro 667 million in 2006 and is present in more than 90 countries.
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 (Euronext Brussels: BAR) is active in more than 90 countries with about 3800 employees worldwide. Barco posted sales of euro 751 million in 2006.
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