20-20 agrees to acquire 51% stake in Icovia
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, February 11, 2008
Laval, Quebec — Software provider 20-20 Technologies has agreed to acquire a majority stake Icovia, a provider of interactive, online space planning solutions for the home furnishings, real estate and interior design industries.
20-20 said it will pay US$1.6 million for 51% of Icovia, with management of Icovia holding the remaining 49%. The transaction is expected to close by Feb. 15.
The company said the deal increases 20-20's market share in online design with interactive tools and complements its suite of 3D Web applications called 20-20 Virtual Studio.
"20-20 acquired Icovia both because of its complementary product offering, and its expertise and success marketing technology products to the home furnishings industry," said Jean Mignault, 20-20 CEO and co-chairman. "Icovia's space planning solution is a platform we can build upon, extending the capabilities of the product to include 3D visualization."
The integration of the companies' technologies has already yielded a new product — Icovia 3D, an interactive 3D space-planning tool for home furnishings retailers and manufacturers, introduced at the recent Las Vegas Market.
"Icovia is excited about the acquisition because it allows us to rapidly roll out new products and features that will help our customers market their products online," said Steve Street, CEO of Icovia. "20-20's 3D technology is particularly impressive. We evaluated all the 3D technologies currently available and found nothing as powerful, easy to use and feature rich as 20-20 Technologies."
Jean-Francois Grou, president of 20-20, said the combination of Icovia's knowledge of the home furnishings industry and 20-20's design software expertise creates an attractive offering.
"Our clients can link their online planning tool to Web analytics software, allowing them to gain valuable insight into consumer preferences, and measure the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns through user registration," said Grou.
Privately held Icovia, based in Londonderry, N.H., was founded in 2000 and has clients including La-Z-Boy, Kohler, Nautilus and Samsung.
20-20 is publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
