Barco splashed out approximately €54 million to buy a 5% stake in Chinese LED manufacturer Unilumin.
As part of a wide-ranging strategic collaboration between the two companies, Barco hopes to secure a supply of LED components while Unilumin will leverage Barco’s expertise in image and video processing to push into control rooms, AR/VR, medical care, film and other professional LED display markets.
Jan De Witte, CEO of Barco, said: “Barco’s heritage includes some of the most impressive customised LED installations all around the world
“However, LED technology continues to develop at a rapid pace and starts to open up interesting opportunities in mainstream markets in the entertainment and enterprise segments. With this partnership we are strengthening our global competitive play as we further expand the hardware component of our 'hardware + software + services' proposition towards our target markets.”
The companies have also pledged to work together to develop new technologies and products and Unilumin and Barco are looking to push DCI compliant LED into cinemas in anticipation of predicted growth of the technology in the sector.
Mingfeng Lin, CEO of Unilumin, said: “Barco is our route to the high-end market offering access to a broader and more global audience.
“In addition, this cooperation also allows us to leverage Barco’s image processing capabilities in LED solutions. Both companies are convinced that the mutual recognition of each other’s strengths will result in a win-win opportunity and a long-term beneficial partnership for everyone involved, including the customer.”