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Advantech buys British intelligent display provider for foothold in European gaming

November 19, 2013

Global intelligent systems provider Advantech announced it has signed an agreement to acquire British intelligent display company GPEG. After the merger, GPEG's original management team will remain unchanged, and will join the Advantech Embedded Core Computing Group, under the name of Advantech-GPEG.

GPEG's industry know-how, plus its sales experience in the European market, will combine well with Advantech's worldwide sales team and service network, and these complementary strengths will actively promote Advantech intelligent display and further develop the gaming market in Europe, the companies said.

Advantech Chairman KC Liu said in the announcement that "in view of the global trend toward smart cities and IoT, the intelligent display will be the most important user interface in the near future. Therefore, Advantech is very optimistic about development potential in the intelligent display market, and with the GPEG merger, we hope that we can accelerate product development, enhance sales strength and lead market growth in intelligent displays."

Liu also noted that, while Advantech already has Eurupean sales teams and product development capabilities, the acquisition will hasten his company's familiarity with the gaming industry in Europe and will enable it to draw on GPEG's market development experience in the European gaming market. Advantech will also integrate GPEG's product sales and design professionals with the resources of Innocore-Gaming, which Advantech acquired in 2010, to provide the European gaming market with complete solutions with Advantech embedded boards.

After the merger, GPEG's former CEO Nick How and Sales Director Dave Webbing will continue leading Advantech-GPEG, cultivating gaming and application-specific display markets for customers in each vertical industry, and providing customized complete solutions. GPEG was established in London in 2005 to supply specialized application displays, especially designing and producing intelligent displays for the gaming industry.

"We are tremendously excited about the opportunities for our customers, suppliers and employees that this merger will bring," How said. "The access to complementary products, worldwide sales channels as well as the resources of a company like Advantech, paves the way for a very bright future for the company."

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