Imaging and video technology company Matrox last week announced that it has agreed to sell its Matrox Imaging division to scanning, computing, and robotics provider Zebra Technologies Corp. The acquisition of Matrox Imaging, formally known as Matrox Electronic Systems Ltd., was reportedly worth $875 million.
“The combination of Matrox Imaging's technical expertise with the global footprint of Zebra Technologies will present an opportunity for Matrox Imaging to accelerate its long-term strategic plan,” stated Lorne Trottier, co-founder and president of Matrox. “With its complementary machine vision and fixed industrial scanning portfolio, Zebra Technologies will be an excellent home for Matrox Imaging.”
Matrox Imaging supplies components to OEMs and integrators in the machine vision, image analysis, and medical imaging industries. They include smart cameras, 3D sensors, vision controllers, I/O cards, and frame grabbers. All the components are designed to provide an optimal price-performance ratio within a common software environment, said Matrox Imaging.
The business unit has employees in the U.K., Germany, and the U.S., as well as sales representatives in more than 25 countries worldwide.
Zebra Technologies expands portfolio
Zebra Technologies said it provides technologies for sensing, analyzing, and acting in real time. The Lincolnshire, Ill.-based company said it “empowers organizations to thrive in the on-demand economy by making every front-line worker and asset at the edge visible, connected, and fully optimized.”
With an ecosystem of more than 10,000 partners across over 100 countries, Zebra claimed that it serves customers of all sizes, including 94% of the Fortune 100. It has a portfolio of hardware, software, and services that digitize and automate healthcare and supply chain workflows.
Last year, Zebra acquired mobile robot maker Fetch Robotics for $290 million. The automatic identification and data capture (AIDC) company has also expanded its machine vision and artificial intelligence capabilities with the purchases of Adaptive Vision and antuit.ai.
“Matrox Imaging brings deep expertise that will strengthen our recently established Machine Vision Business Unit and help Zebra further differentiate our growing portfolio of machine vision solutions,” said Anders Gustafsson, CEO of Zebra Technologies.
“I have observed the talented team at Matrox Imaging firsthand,” he said. “Joining forces with them through this investment will be a win-win proposition to propel our machine vision solutions to the next level.”
Matrox Video to remain independent
“Zebra shares our focus on innovation and investing in employee development,” said Trottier. “This bodes well for the future of Matrox Imaging and our team members who will be transitioning to Zebra.”
Founded in 1976, Matrox said it has developed innovative hardware and software to solve real-world problems for an array of high-tech industries.
Zebra's definitive share-purchase agreement with the Dorval, Quebec-based company does not include its Matrox Video division. Trottier will remain owner of Matrox Graphics Inc.
“This transaction will enable us to continue to invest heavily in Matrox Video's successful growth path, its award-winning products and its ongoing process of innovation,” he said. “We are fully committed to the future of Matrox Video.”
Matrox Video supplies hardware, software, application programming interfaces (APIs), and software development kits (SDKs). The unit has served the audio/visual, IT, broadcast, and emerging markets for 45 years.
The transaction between Matrox and Zebra Technologies is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval.
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