Sakar International announced on Monday that it has snapped up the Vivitar brand name and intellectual property from Syntax-Brillian in a move to expand its camera line into the midrange digital-camera market and gain greater visibility.
Sakar, a consumer electronics maker, plans to use the 70-year-old Vivitar brand on digital cameras priced in the midprice range of $70 to $300, stretching its current lineup from the low-range market of $20 to $100.
"Linking ourselves to Vivitar will strengthen our presence on the retail shelf while also enabling retailers to buy more product from a single source," Ralph Sasson, Sakar's chief operating officer, said in a statement that did not disclose terms of the acquisition. "We will now have an even more extensive product line at multiple price points."
Sakar markets a range of consumer electronics ranging from digital cameras and accessories to iPod accessories to digital-music players.
The sale of Vivitar's brand and intellectual property, which comes approximately two years after Syntax-Brillian acquired the camera maker and less than two months after Syntax-Brillian filed for bankruptcy protection, will move Sakar's product offering into a market that competes with the likes of Olympus' point-and-shoot model, Canon's PowerShot SD790, and Nikon's Coolpix S600.
Syntax-Brillian, one of several smaller LCD TV makers to use club store sales to do an end-run around the category's traditional leaders, has filed for bankruptcy.
The Tempe, Ariz.-based Olevia television and Vivitar digital camera maker, filed for protection from creditors in a Delaware court following a year of missed sales targets, leadership changes, and accounting problems, according to Reuters.
The company's stock has dropped more than 90 percent in the last year, and its efforts to refinance and raise additional financing were unsuccessful. With just eight employees left at headquarters, it has ceased operations.
A new company, called Olevia International Group, has been created and will take on $60 million of Syntax-Brillian's debt, and the Vivitar digital camera unit will be put up for sale. The company had total debts of $259.4 million and assets amounting to $175.7 million.
Analysts that follow the flat-panel television market have been warning since late last year that there would be an eventual shakeout in the business, as more small brands piled on the growing LCD TV market.
Earlier this year, Philips announced it would no longer be producing its own televisions in North America, and enlisted Funai to do so on its behalf.
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