Belgium / USA - Belgium-based Barco recently announced the acquisition of Folsom Research Inc, based in Sacramento, California. Folsom, which employs 75 associates, is a profitable company with product lines covering solutions for image processing, image communication and image functionality and 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 and Staging) market, which makes it an ideal 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; at the same time this increases the total sales of Barco in North America, another of Barco's strategic goals, say the company.

(Sarah Rushton-Read)


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