Omaha, Neb.—Jul 6, 2006
Ballantyne of Omaha Completes Acquisition of National Cinema Service Corp.
Ballantyne of Omaha, Inc. (Amex: BTN), a provider of motion picture projection, specialty lighting and digital cinema equipment and services, today announced that it completed the acquisition of the assets of National Cinema Service Corp. (NCSC), a national provider of cinema services including film and digital projector maintenance, repair, equipment installations, site surveys and other theatre services. The acquisition was funded with available cash.
The NCSC assets and technical organization will form the core of a service offering - Strong Technical Services, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ballantyne - being established to serve the growing digital cinema marketplace. NCSC provides cinema services on a national basis to customers in 31 states, with annual revenues of approximately $5 million. The Company has garnered a strong industry reputation for quality work, responsiveness and an experienced technical team that possesses, on average, 11 years of direct industry experience.
Effective with the closing of the acquisition, NCSC President Chris Pierce, and the NCSC senior management team, have joined Ballantyne and are working directly with John Wolski, Vice President of Ballantyne's Strong Digital Systems division.
John P. Wilmers, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ballantyne, commented, "Like Ballantyne, NCSC is a long established leader in the cinema services market, with a respected professional staff and a loyal, national customer base. The addition of NCSC represents important progress in our strategy to position the Company to address the near- and long-term growth opportunities in the digital cinema market. We view NCSC as an excellent platform for future growth that will add value to our installation and 'after-sale' activities and help position Ballantyne as a leading provider of products and services in the digital cinema market."