Cintel managing director Adam Welsh declined to reveal the amount spent on buying ITK's assets, intellectual property and goodwill but admitted it was a 'substantial amount of money'. Under the terms of the deal, ITK co-founder and former Cintel engineer Stuart Hunt joins the Cintel board as technical director, working alongside Cintel's research and development director.
Welsh said Hunt, who was highly visible at IBC on the Cintel stand, had reacted positively to returning to his former employer and had endorsed the winning bid.
The deal was concluded last Thursday (12 September) afternoon to the surprise of a group of ITK users who believed they had struck a deal with the administrators. According to Welsh, Cintel was not aware at the time that the rival bid had been so close to being signed. However, he said the two parties have since cleared up any misunderstanding and were looking forward to working together. 'The plan is to support ITK's user base and continue to develop the products,' he said.
Welsh said Cintel was looking at the two companies' products and where to pitch each of them in the market. 'There will be one product range,' he said.
Welsh added that Hunt had picked out a number of ITK staff who would be invited to join Cintel. Furthermore, he said that ITK co-founder Delphi Durrant would be helping with sales and marketing.
Durrant and Hunt set up ITK in 1994, which grew from developing telecine add-ons to being a full telecine manufacturer two years ago with the Millennium Machine. Welsh said the two firms have remained amicable despite intense competition and a patent infringement lawsuit. He said it made sense for them to combine forces.
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