This was reported in the Herald Tribune:
.
The management team of the film division agreed to buy the unit for
E175.5 million, payable over the next four years, with a loan from the
parent company worth the same amount. The deal also includes tax
rebates that bring the total cash benefit for Agfa Gevaert up to E260
million, the company said.
.
"It's a good deal for Agfa Gevaert," said Dirk Saelens, an analyst at
KBC Securities in Brussels. "I didn't expect them to be able to sell
the whole division in one piece. This is clearly in the best interest
of shareholders."
.
Stock in Agfa closed up E2.48, or 13 percent, at E21.63 in Brussels.
.
Agfa's photographic unit, which will now be called simply AgfaPhoto,
builds photographic laboratories, makes photo paper, inks and the
chemicals required to develop photos, and produces rolls of film. The
division's operating loss was E30 million in the first half of the
year.
.
The consumer imaging division - which employs about 2,870 people, most
of them in Germany - has 8 percent of the world film market with its
Agfa-branded film and 45 percent of the private-label market, AFX
reported.
.
The worldwide film market was forecast to decline by 15 percent this
year, and the other household names in the traditional film industry -
Eastman Kodak and FujiFilm - are also restructuring their businesses.
.
Also on Thursday, Agfa Gevaert posed a loss of E235 million. Agfa said
that without charges related to the sale of the division, it would have
had a E56 million profit. Revenue fell 11.8 percent from a year earlier
to E1.87 billion.
.
International Herald Tribune
Move comes amid rise of digital images
BRUSSELS Agfa Gevaert, one of the oldest names in the photographic
industry, said Thursday that it was selling its consumer films and
photo labs business to focus on its more profitable activities in the
medical imaging and graphics arts industries.
.
The move comes as sales of traditional rolls of film decline while
digital cameras become increasingly popular.
.
"The photo activities are the origin of our company and an important
part of our history," said Ludo Verhoeven, Agfa Gevaert's chief
executive, in a telephone interview. "Divesting them was not an easy
decision, but with changing market conditions you have to make a
choice."
.
The management team of the film division agreed to buy the unit for
E175.5 million, payable over the next four years, with a loan from the
parent company worth the same amount. The deal also includes tax
rebates that bring the total cash benefit for Agfa Gevaert up to E260
million, the company said.
.
"It's a good deal for Agfa Gevaert," said Dirk Saelens, an analyst at
KBC Securities in Brussels. "I didn't expect them to be able to sell
the whole division in one piece. This is clearly in the best interest
of shareholders."
.
Stock in Agfa closed up E2.48, or 13 percent, at E21.63 in Brussels.
.
Agfa's photographic unit, which will now be called simply AgfaPhoto,
builds photographic laboratories, makes photo paper, inks and the
chemicals required to develop photos, and produces rolls of film. The
division's operating loss was E30 million in the first half of the
year.
They are going to be very good to be able to pay off E17.5 million in
four years with a division that has been losing E30 million in six
months.
Winsor
Long Beach, CA
USA
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