Acquisition

Photo-Me International PLC 17 April 2003 PHOTO-ME INTERNATIONAL ACQUIRES CENTRAL LABS BUSINESS OF THE FORMER GRETAG IMAGING AG PMI, a prominent manufacturer of digital photoprocessing minilabs as well as the world's leading operator of photobooths, has acquired from the Liquidator, for SFr 3.0 million (£1.4 million) in cash, certain assets of the Central Lab Equipment division of the former Gretag Imaging AG ('Gretag CLE'). The business will continue to operate from premises at Regensdorf, near Zurich in Switzerland. Gretag CLE is involved in the development, manufacture, sale and technical support of equipment and systems for high volume photo finishing laboratories. Its CYRA system is the most advanced in the market, and the equipment is capable of processing 13,000 prints an hour. The acquisition will open up to PMI a sector of the industry in which it has not been represented previously. Gretag CLE had a 30% share of the worldwide central laboratory equipment market. PMI expects to generate a turnover of around SFr30 million (£14 million) from the new business in the coming financial year. The central labs market is currently moving to digital image processing from conventional analogue photo finishing. In this segment, Gretag CLE has the only complete digital solution and is thought to be two years ahead of its principal competitor for digital printing and scanning systems. The business unit will be run for PMI by Rainer Bauer, who was formerly head of Gretag's German subsidiary. Serge Crasnianski, PMI's CEO, stated 'The acquisition of the world leader in large scale photoprocessing is a terrific opportunity for PMI. It means that now our offering will cover the whole market place, with the DKS 550 and 750 addressing the lower end, the DKS 1500 the mid-range and the Gretag CLE equipment the high volume requirements. Additionally, there will be synergies between our existing minilab business and the new central labs division in the areas of research, sales and maintenance.' Enquiries: Photo-Me International plc 01372-453399 Serge Crasnianski (Chief Executive Officer) Bankside Consultants Limited Charles Ponsonby 020-7444 4166 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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