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Merger to put DLP, polysilicon-LCD projectors under one banner
BOSTON - InFocus Systems, the worldwide leader in electronic projectors, last week announced that it will mere with Proxima, which holds the No. 4 position, creating an entity that's twice the size of its nearest competitor.
Combining InFocus' strength in Digital Light Processing (DLP) projectors with Proxima's clout in polysilicon-LCD projectors creates a "good match," said Sweta Dash, director of LCD and projection research at Stanford Resources (San Jose, Calif ). The new company, which will retain the InFocus name, will thus have strong positions in both of today's dominant projection display technologies, she said.
InFocus, based in Wilsonville, Ore., had 1999 revenue of about $391 million; and Proxima (Oslo, Norway), about $298 million. Together, they will become "the world's largest developer, manufacturer and marketer of multimedia projection products and services," said an InFocus spokesman, "in a market segment that is growing in excess of 40 percent annually."
InFocus will make a public exchange offer to Proxima shareholders, with a Proxima share garnering 0.3615 share of the new InFocus.
Analyst Dash noted that in 1998, InFocus and Proxima were building projectors based on both Texas Instruments Inc.'s...