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Sahara Presentations Systems (Sahara Holdings Ltd) acquired by Boxlight Corporation
As of today, Sahara Presentation Systems PLC (including Sahara AV Solutions, Clevertouch and Sedao) has been acquired by Boxlight Inc. The acquisition by Boxlight is set to benefit Sahara AV’s, Sedao’s and Clevertouch’s partners across the world with an even greater range of audio-visual solutions for greater collaboration, classroom and workspace technology.
Formed in 1976, Kevin and Nigel Batley have positioned the company to become a leader within distributed AV products and a manufacturer of multi-award winning touchscreens and digital signage products with globally renowned Clevertouch and Sedao.
Kevin Batley comments: ‘This is an exciting time for the Sahara business as we continue to grow the business globally. The business is trading extremely well even in the current climate. Nigel and I will remain in the business as shareholders and the day to day running will be assumed by our management team led by CEO, Mark Starkey’.
Headquartered in the UK with offices globally, Sahara has become a leader in distributed and manufactured AV solutions with 100 employees located in Europe and North America.
Mark Starkey comments: ‘The team and I are very excited about the journey ahead. The global footprint and infrastructure of Boxlight with their experience in delivering education software and audio visual products, paired with our extensive experience and expertise in AV, means that our customers across Europe and the world are better positioned more than ever to benefit from advanced and collaborative working environments. We want to assure our partners, vendors and customers that everything will remain the same within our business operations. We are committed to our rapid expansion plans under the new acquisition.’
The acquisition will enable Boxlight Corporation to utilise Sahara’s knowledge and experience of world class beating technology and innovation. Sahara’s clients will benefit from Boxlight’s financial strength and range of education software and products that include AI and robotics.
Michael Pope, Chairman and CEO at Boxlight added, “I am thrilled to combine the resources of Boxlight and Sahara, two of the most recognized companies in education technology. The acquisition expands our geographic reach - particularly in the EMEA region, provides significant revenue growth, results in immediate consolidated profitability, and adds tremendous global management talent. We have committed to dramatic growth, both organically and through acquisitions, and we are delivering on that promise. I look forward to reporting our consolidated financial statements in future quarters.”
Partners can expect the same great service and products, from their usual Sahara, Clevertouch and Sedao account managers. Nothing will change, we will only add to your experience with additional products and services.
Cripps Pemberton Greenish represented Sahara as legal counsel for the transaction and BDO LLP acted as an adviser. Michelman & Robinson, LLP and Hinds & Small Limited represented Boxlight as legal counsel and Dixon Hughes Goodman LLP acted as an adviser.
For more information, please contact your account manager or divisional manager.
Key Sahara Presentation Systems PLC management contacts:
CEO, Mark Starkey – [email protected]
Sales and Productive Development Director, Shaun Marklew – [email protected]
UK Sales Director – John Ginty, [email protected]
International Sales Director – Simon Chidsey, [email protected]
Chief Finance Officer – Pat Foley, [email protected]
Group Marketing Director – Adam Kingshott, [email protected]
Kevin Batley – [email protected]
Nigel Batley – [email protected]
For all press enquiries, please contact Group Marketing Director, Adam Kingshott at [email protected]
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Published by Adam Kingshott on 25 September 2020
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Clevertouch by Boxlight
Unit 4, 5 Church Manorway, DA8 1DG
Tel: +44 (0)20 8319 7777 | E-mail: [email protected]
A Sahara Presentations Group Company
Sahara Presentation Systems, a division of Boxlight Corporation
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Boxlight Acquires Sahara Presentation Systems for GBP 74 Million (USD 94.9 Million)
Acquisition includes Clevertouch and Sedao brands and p¬rovides geographic expansion, substantial revenue growth, consolidated profitability and global management talent
Lawrenceville, GA, September 25, 2020 – Boxlight Corporation (Nasdaq: BOXL), a leading provider of interactive technology solutions for the global education market, today announced it has acquired Sahara Presentation Systems PLC, a leader in distributed and manufactured AV solutions.
The total purchase price was GBP 74,000,000 (approximately USD 94,900,000) in the form of GBP 52,000,000 (approximately USD 66,700,000) cash and GBP 22,000,000 (approximately USD 28,200,000) preferred stock.
Headquartered in the United Kingdom, Sahara is a leader in distributed AV products and a manufacturer of multi-award winning touchscreens and digital signage products, including the globally renowned Clevertouch and Sedao brands. The company was formed in 1976 by Kevin and Nigel Batley, who grew the company to more than 100 employees with offices worldwide.
“This is an exciting time for the Sahara business, which is trading extremely well, even in the current climate. We welcome the added leadership and solutions from Boxlight as we aim to accelerate our growth in key markets around the world,” stated Kevin Batley, Director at Sahara.
“I am very excited about the journey ahead as we join Boxlight,” stated Mark Starkey, CEO at Sahara. “The global footprint and infrastructure of Boxlight, with their experience in delivering comprehensive education technology solutions, paired with our extensive experience and expertise in AV technology and products, will position us to provide our customers across the world with solutions for advanced and collaborative working environments. We are committed to continue our rapid expansion plans following Sahara’s acquisition by Boxlight.”
Michael Pope, Chairman and CEO at Boxlight added, “I am thrilled to combine the resources of Boxlight and Sahara, two of the most recognized companies in education technology. The Sahara acquisition expands our geographic reach – particularly in the EMEA region, provides significant revenue growth, results in immediate consolidated profitability, and adds tremendous global management talent. We are committed to achieving dramatic growth, both organically and through acquisitions, and we are delivering on that promise. The combined companies are generating greater than USD 100 million in sales and are highly profitable. I look forward to reporting our consolidated financial statements in future quarters.”
Cripps Pemberton Greenish represented Sahara as legal counsel for the transaction and BDO LLP acted as an adviser. Michelman & Robinson, LLP and Hinds & Small Limited represented Boxlight as legal counsel and Dixon Hughes Goodman LLP acted as an adviser.
About Boxlight Corporation
Boxlight Corporation (Nasdaq: BOXL) (“Boxlight”) is a leading provider of technology solutions for the global learning market. The company aims to improve learning and engagement in classrooms and to help educators enhance student outcomes, by developing the products they need. The company develops, sells, and services its integrated, interactive solution suite including software, classroom technologies, professional development and support services. For more information about the Boxlight story, visit http://www.boxlight.com .
Forward Looking Statements
This press release may contain information about Boxlight’s view of its future expectations, plans and prospects that constitute forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from historical results or those indicated by these forward-looking statements because of a variety of factors including, but not limited to, risks and uncertainties associated with its ability to maintain and grow its business, variability of operating results, its development and introduction of new products and services, marketing and other business development initiatives, competition in the industry, etc. Boxlight encourages you to review other factors that may affect its future results in Boxlight’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Sunshine Nance +1 360-464-2119 x254 [email protected] Investor Relations
Michael Pope Boxlight Corporation +1 360-464-4478 [email protected]
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Media Relations Sunshine Nance +1 360-464-2119 x254 [email protected]
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Boxlight acquires Sahara Presentation Systems
By Zoe Mutter in Business , News September 25, 2020 0
Boxlight Corporation, a provider of interactive technology solutions for the global education market, has acquired distributor Sahara Presentation Systems.
Boxlight Corporation’s acquisition of Sahara Presentation Systems includes Sahara AV Solutions, Clevertouch and Sedao brands and provides geographic expansion, substantial revenue growth, consolidated profitability and global management talent.
Headquartered in the UK, AV distributor Sahara also manufactures touchscreens and digital signage products, including Clevertouch and Sedao brands. The company was formed in 1976 by Kevin and Nigel Batley, who grew the company to over 100 employees with offices worldwide.
“This is an exciting time for the Sahara business, which is trading extremely well, even in the current climate. We welcome the added leadership and solutions from Boxlight as we aim to accelerate our growth in key markets around the world,” said Kevin Batley, Director at Sahara.
“I am very excited about the journey ahead,” said Mark Starkey, CEO at Sahara. “The global footprint and infrastructure of Boxlight, with their experience in delivering education software and audio visual solutions, paired with our extensive experience and expertise in AV, will position us to provide our customers across the world solutions for advanced and collaborative working environments. We are committed to continue our rapid expansion plans and under the new acquisition.”
Michael Pope, Chairman and CEO at Boxlight, added, “I am thrilled to combine the resources of Boxlight and Sahara, two of the most recognized companies in education technology. The acquisition expands our geographic reach - particularly in the EMEA region, provides significant revenue growth, results in immediate consolidated profitability, and adds tremendous global management talent. We have committed to dramatic growth, both organically and through acquisitions, and we are delivering on that promise. I look forward to reporting our consolidated financial statements in future quarters.”
AV Magazine caught up with Kevin Batley just after the acquisition announcement to find out more about what it means for both companies.
"Nigel and I will remain on the board and will still play a part day to day. We have a management team in place who are more than capable of taking this business to the next stage. It’s a perfect fit and we share the same ethos - the Boxlight operation is very US-centric and we have been selling in lots of countries around the world as well as the UK market," said Kevin.
Sahara's Kevin and Nigel Batley
"We recognised that we needed to step up to the next size and to do that means raising a lot more money. Nigel and I have always left the money in the company and it has been asset rich in the sense that it has been able to fund itself. This also meant we never needed to furlough anybody in the last six months.
"But the problem for Nigel and I is that we couldn’t do that forever. The fact that Boxlight is a NASDAQ listed company was a factor as they have the ability to grow and raise funds which offers a lot of advantages. We think that this offers opportunities for some of our customers around the world too. Age was a factor too as I'm 66 and Nigel is 63 and doing what is right for the company is always going to be our top priority."
Stability is of great importance to the Sahara team, as is ensuring their customers feel comfortable with the change. Kevin added: "From Boxlight’s point of view we also tick some boxes because they have nothing outside of the US and we offer them a presence in enterprise and digital signage. Boxlight is also working on some really impressive technology and I see a lot of product innovation coming from this."
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