Milestone AV Technologies To Merge With Da-Lite

By Lisa Johnston On Apr 4 2011 - 4:01am

MINNEAPOLIS — Milestone AV Technologies announced a pending merger with Da-Lite Screen Company.

Milestone is the manufacturer of the Chief- and Sanusbranded A/V mounts and furniture, while Da-Lite manufactures the Da-Lite, Projecta and Procolor commercial and residential projection screens.

The combined business will have nearly 1,000 employees worldwide and eight major operating locations worldwide, according to a release put out by the companies.

When asked how this will affect personnel, a spokesman for the company said: “In the short-term this should have no impact on either company’s personnel or offices. Milestone’s headquarters remain in Savage, Minn., and Da-Lite operates in Indiana as a wholly owned subsidiary. Both businesses remain intact with Scott leading the combined company and Rich Lundin as the president of the Da-Lite subsidiary. Over the longerterm there will be some back-office synergies, such as IT and accounting, but these will be of a less material nature. This really was not meant to be a cost-cutting transaction, but really to leverage the strength of the two organizations and bring a more complete product set to the marketplace.”

“We are pleased to announce the combination of these two great companies,” said Scott Gill, CEO of Milestone. “Through the strength of this combination, we will be able to offer a more comprehensive product line to our joint customers, open up new sales channels for our brands, and provide growth opportunities for our employees. We look forward to expanding our reputation for innovative products and market-leading customer service.”

Milestone has headquarters in Savage, and Da-Lite will continue to be based in Warsaw, Ind. Da-Lite will be an operating subsidiary of Milestone under the leadership of Richard Lundin, current Da-Lite president.’

A definitive merger agreement has been signed, and the transaction is expected to close within the next 30 days. It will be funded under a new credit facility at Milestone, the company said.