Agfa Graphics buys Gandi Innovations assets
Agfa Graphics has reached an agreement to acquire most of the assets of troubled Gandi Innovations LLC's North American operations and the shares of its principal foreign subsidiaries. The acquisition, which is subject to regulatory and court approval, seals the fate of Gandi Innovations which has been operating under CCAA protection in Canada and?
Chapter 15 in the USA since May this year. Agfa has not disclosed how much it is paying for the Gandi assets, though in a statement the company said the transaction "will have no major impact on Agfa's financial debt."
Since its inception in 2001 Gandi Innovations has created a large installed base of its inkjet printing engines, reaching a sales peak of 127 million USD in 2008. Sales in 2009 suffered from the economic crisis and the uncertainty surrounding the company. Gandi, which has its headquarters and production facilities in Mississauga (Canada), employs 256?
Worldwide. At the time of going to press Agfa had made no decision on the continued staffing levels at Gandi or on its product integrations.
"The combination of Gandi Innovations' products and Agfa Graphics' products will result in substantial growth for our inkjet business based on an even more complete system portfolio," said Richard Barham, Agfa Graphics' vice president inkjet. "This is an important step in implementing our inkjet growth strategy. As our own portfolio consists of entry-level and high-end inkjet systems, Gandi Innovations' mid-range systems are a 100% complementary fit with our existing inkjet technology."
Gandi Innovations' CEO and co-founder Hary Gandy added: "Joining Agfa Graphics offers Gandi Innovations' staff and customers tremendous opportunities for the future. The combined capabilities and coverage in customer service and research and development will accelerate the launch ?of new products, deliver new business opportunities and further expand our ?service to our customers."
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