Both specialize in electronic virtual advertisement insertion into televised sports and entertainment events.
By: George Frey
Princeton Video Imaging, the Lawrenceville firm that made the yellow first-down line appear on NFL televised games, announced the firm’s acquisition of an Israeli video imaging firm, SciDel Technologies Ltd.
A PVI official said that despite recent doubts about the company’s finances the company will soon announce new revenue contracts.
Both SciDel and PVI specialize in electronic virtual advertisement insertion into live and taped televised sports and entertainment events which PVI says is a flexible technique with distinct advantages for broadcasters and advertisers.
"With the (SciDel) acquisition, PVI increases its industry depth as well as its share in the European soccer Market. SciDel has extensive experience with European soccer broadcasts and inserts ads virtually for the international broadcasts of the English Premier League, Italian Series A and the Spanish Football League," PVI said in a statement released by the company.
"Our acquisition of SciDel in Israel was a stock deal," said Larry Epstein, the vice president and chief financial officer of PVI.
"We acquired all of their assets in exchange for 1.3 million shares of PVI stocks and approximately 650,000 warrants for PVI stock with a sale price of about $9 per share."
"We’re excited about integrating both companies into one new company," Mr. Epstein said. "We think they’ll be much stronger together than they were separately. We’re optimistic about growing the business."
Mr. Epstein said PVI had $8.4 million in cash on hand as of the first of the year, and had not used any cash in the transaction except for lawyers and accounting fees.
PVI’s finances were given a warning qualification by analysts with PriceWaterhouseCoopers, according to published reports earlier this month. The reports said PVI has little cash on hand but hoped to renew its life again with more financing from investors and current shareholders in the future probably within the next two months, the company said.
Mr. Epstein said the company had new revenue contracts in place due to the recent SciDel deal which he said the company would also make public in the coming weeks.
PVI also announced April 10 that the EyeVision system, a product developed with CBS Sports Engineering and another company Core Digital, has been nominated for a 2002 Sports Emmy in the category of Outstanding Innovative Technical Achievement.
EyeVision is a system which produces three-dimensional replays from multi-camera angles. Using synchronized cameras, EyeVision provides views of approximately 270 degrees around an object which also has a stop action capability, the company said. CBS Sports used EyeVision in the 2002 NCAA Mens Final Four basketabll championships, and in the past at events like the Super Bowl and the Stanley Cup Finals broadcasts.