Norwegian Firm to Acquire Proxima

ASK, a Norwegian maker of desktop projection equipment, agreed to buy San Diego-based competitor Proxima Corp. for $84 million in cash to expand in the U.S. ASK will pay $11 for each Proxima share, 32% above Friday’s closing price. “This is positive--they’ll get a very different presence in the U.S. market after this,” said Per Helland, a trader at Norway’s Bryggen Finans. ASK had sales of $79.5 million last year, while Proxima had sales of $133.3 million. According to ASK, the market for multimedia projectors is poised to grow 35% to $2.5 billion this year. “This merger will create a strong competitor in the worldwide market for data-capable multimedia projectors,” ASK President Ole J. Fredriksen and Proxima Chairman Kenneth E. Olson said in a joint statement. Proxima will become a subsidiary of ASK. Proxima shares rose $2.31 to close at $10.63 on Nasdaq.