Ballantyne of Omaha, Inc. (Amex: BTN), a leading motion picture projection, digital cinema and lighting equipment provider, announced that it has completed the purchase of privately-held Marcel Desrochers, Inc. (MDI). Marcel Desrochers is a respected manufacturer of cinema projection screens, and has been purchased for $3.4 million in cash.
MDI is a leader in projection screen manufacturing, and expects 2007 revenue to approach Cdn. $4 million. Like Ballantyne, MDI has an excellent reputation for quality products and service, strong customer relationships, and boasts an experienced technical staff.
Because of MDI’s wide range of products, this will expand the already vast product line that BTN offers. Furthermore, Ballantyne will now have a new growth opportunity not present before this acquisition.
Benoit Mailloux, acting CEO of MDI commented, “Ballantyne represents the ideal partner for MDI as we share a strong commitment to industry-leading products and customer service. We believe there is substantial synergy between our respective product lines and customer bases that should drive growth for both our businesses as the conversion to digital cinema gains momentum. We expect the exhibition industry will embrace the opportunity to procure projectors and screens from one vendor. Our late founder and Chief Executive Officer, Marcel Desrochers, was a strong supporter of the combination of the two companies and worked actively on developing the structure.”
John P. Wilmers, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ballantyne, stated, “The acquisition of MDI is consistent with our strategy to leverage our core business through acquisitions of complementary products and services while maintaining our focus on the digital cinema rollout. With MDI’s proven leadership in the North American cinema screen market and its strong relationships with industry leaders like Real D, we are very excited by the potential benefits of this transaction. The goal of our M&A program is to leverage our cash position to expand our slate of industry-leading products and services so that we can best support the needs of our customers and their overall ‘auditorium experience.”
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