Amadeus Capital Partners, the European technology investor, today announced the sale of Forth Dimension Displays to Kopin Corporation (NASDAQ: KOPN), the Massachusetts-based nano-semiconductor company, for $11 million, plus an earn out provision if certain revenue milestones are reached within one year of purchase date.
Forth Dimension Displays develops and manufactures silicon-based micro-displays for high-performance, near-to-eye and projection applications, such as high definition electronic viewfinders, industrial and medical equipment. Amadeus first invested at the formation of the company (then known as CRLO Displays) in 2004.
“Our acquisition of Forth Dimension Displays opens new market opportunities for Kopin and expands our product offerings to our customers,” said Kopin President and Chief Executive Officer Dr. John C.C. Fan. “The company’s ultra-high-resolution reflective micro-display is well suited for applications such as high-performance cinematography, training and simulation, 3D metrology and medical imaging. Its proprietary Time Domain Imaging (TDI™) technology provides beautiful high-resolution, full-color images that are critical for these high-end applications. Kopin is the leading transmissive micro-display company in the world, and with this acquisition we will be the only micro-display manufacturer that can offer complete system solutions with either reflective or transmissive liquid crystal display technologies.” Dr. Fan continued. “We are delighted to welcome the company’s employees to the Kopin family.”
Greg Truman, Chief Executive Officer of Forth Dimension Displays, said, “Forth Dimension Displays is coming off a very good 2010 with design wins with several high-performance cinematography camera manufacturers. We are pleased to become part of Kopin, and we look forward to contributing our technology expertise to new product applications and markets.”
Commenting on the sale of Forth Dimension Displays, Amadeus CEO Anne Glover says: “This exit comes after a successful 2010, with several profitable exits including Secerno, bought by Oracle, and EPiServer, bought by IK. The European venture sector still attracts scepticism, but we and other leading European VCs are steadily proving that returns can be made with patience and application. Of our two current venture portfolios, one is showing combined revenue growth of over 20% per annum and the other over 50% per annum. That clearly demonstrates the long-term value in these companies, some of which are already world leaders in their fields; all of which are part of the backbone of European innovation.”
For further information, please contact:
Chantal Ligertwood, PR for Amadeus, +44 (0)7976 229 210 chantal@ligertwood.net