Imax Enlists Highgate As Brand Licensing Partner
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Toronto, Canada - August 25, 2000 – Imax Corporation (Nasdaq:IMAX; TSE:IMX) announced today that it has retained Highgate Partners, Inc. to develop a licensing strategy for the IMAX® brand in numerous product categories including consumer electronics, photography and optics as well as consumer and business services.
Based in Wilton CT, Highgate is a boutique management-consulting firm that develops strategic brand licensing alliances on behalf of its clients. The management of Highgate has arranged such alliances with brands such as Kodak, Frigidaire, White-Westinghouse and Sylvania. They will immediately begin an in-depth study of potential licenses for the IMAX brand and will begin to approach potential partners by the end of the year.
“The IMAX brand is known around the world for the highest quality, family entertainment presented via images that are unsurpassed in size, clarity, impact and sound,” said Imax co-CEOs Richard L. Gelfond and Bradley J. Wechsler. “The worldwide awareness of the IMAX brand and its strong attributes may create significant opportunities to license the brand into other products and markets. We believe that this agreement with Highgate will allow us to begin to translate the economic strength of the IMAX brand directly into new revenue streams for the Company.”
Highgate President Dennis W. Anastos added: “Highgate Partners is delighted to have been selected as Imax’s brand licensing partner. The global brand equity that Imax management has built over the past few years, with only 220 locations worldwide, is nothing short of phenomenal. Even more impressive, the IMAX brand is wholly unique and is ideally positioned to serve as a marketing platform for an array of new product and services.”
Imax Corporation and its subsidiaries comprise one of the world’s leading entertainment technology companies, with particular emphasis on film and digital imaging technologies, including giant-screen images, 3D presentations, digital post-production and digital projection. There were more than 220 IMAX theatres operating in 26 countries around the world as of June 30, 2000. Imax’s subsidiaries include Digital Projection International, whose primary business is the design and manufacture of high-end digital image delivery devices, and Sonics Associates, a designer and manufacturer of high-end sound systems. Imax has forged strategic alliances and relationships with some of the most prominent corporations in the world including Famous Players Inc. (a subsidiary of Viacom Inc.), America Online Inc. and Texas Instruments Inc. Imax Corporation is a publicly traded company listed on both the Toronto and Nasdaq stock exchanges. More information on the Company can be found at www.imax.com.
This press release contains forward looking statements that are based on management assumptions and existing information and involve certain risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. Important factors that could effect these statements include the timing of theatre system deliveries, the mix of theatre systems shipped, the timing of the recognition of revenues and expenses on film production and distribution agreements, the viability of new businesses and foreign currency fluctuations. These factors and other risks and uncertainties are discussed in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1999 and in the subsequent reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
For additional information, please contact:
Imax Corporation, Toronto
Victoria Dinnick
905-403-6366
[email protected]
Imax Corporation, New York
Stephen Abraham (Analysts)
Tel: 212-821-0140
[email protected]
Newman & Company, Los Angeles
Al Newman (Entertainment Media)
310-777-5252
[email protected]
Edelman Financial, New York
Gina Stikes
212-642-7702
[email protected]