Vimicro Electronics (Vimicro Tianjin), a joint venture company operated and managed by Vimicro International (Vimicro), entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Video Surveillance System (ViSS) from Alcatel-Lucent Shanghai Bell (ASB).
Vimicro Tianjin will acquire the complete ViSS business including all property, plant and equipment, inventories, business contracts, intellectual property and service and development capabilities in China. Moreover, Vimicro and ASB will continue the cooperation on offerings and marketing developments in the future.
The company said that ViSS, is a security and surveillance system addressing the needs of telecom operators and local governments in China. As part of ASB, ViSS is a business platform for unified surveillance, storage and management services utilising a broadband network infrastructure to connect independent monitoring sites across a geographical area.
The company claimed that this platform can meet the monitoring needs of city roadways, airports, shopping centers, banks, schools, and other large facilities where surveillance is vital. ViSS also provides system management tools that improve the visual and audio monitoring capabilities of multiple sites over telecommunication networks.
Vimicro Tianjin, jointly founded by Tianjin government and Vimicro, has a long-term strategic plan to further penetrate the surveillance market.
John Deng, chairman and chief executive officer of Vimicro, said: We are very excited to reach this agreement with ASB. The established telecom and government customers base and the prestigious brand name of ASB will provide us strong leverage to expand in the fast growing surveillance market in China.
“The acquisition and the partnership with ASB will further enrich our product portfolio to address the fast growing market needs, position us strongly as leading surveillance solution provider in China and build upon our growth.
Kevin Liu, senior vice president, applications software group of Alcatel-Lucent Shanghai Bell, said: Combining ASB’s rich experiences in telecom networks and its long-term cooperation with telecom carriers, together with Vimicro’s expertise in video technology and vertical market, we will surely be able to better serve our customers going forward.
The acquisition is expected to be closed in September of 2009 as agreed by both parties. The closing of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions.