STRATACACHE Acquires Canadian Gaming Sign Company
November 12, 2013 by Dave Haynes
STRATACACHE CEO Chris Riegel has been hinting for a few week now that he was closing another acquisition, and after a couple of delays, he was ready this morning to make some noise about buying a Canadian company that’s a big player in old-school gaming signage.
Based in Calgary, Carmanah Signs does all kinds of basic signage – electronic and static – used by state and provincial lottery and gaming corporations. They have about 100,000 lottery jackpot signs – the ones that update the BIG number for the next draw in LED numerals – running worldwide. They also do a pile of casino table-top signs.
The deal may seem at very first glance like a big, head-scratching “Huh.” But Riegel is in no way knucklehead.
Buying Carmanah Signs significantly expands STRATACACHE’s presence in the gaming industry, through a big installed base, an established, approved vendor status with tons of bureaucratic organizations that can be hard to crack, and an exec and sales team that knows how to sell into that market.
Carmanah actively markets to the United States, Canada, Europe, Latin America, South Africa, along with parts of Asia.
The company will continue to operate under the direction of CEO Cameron Waldie, and the company’s current management team will remain in place. “The gaming industry has its own unique signage needs and applications, and we look forward to serving those needs with the combined strengths of STRATACACHE and Carmanah.”
Digital distribution is not foreign to Carmanah, with some of its signs already being updated over wireless networks.
STRATACACHE is very much headed up in Dayton, OH, but the company already had an office in Montreal (mostly developers from a much earlier acquisition) and a sales office in Winnipeg. Riegel also spends quite a bit of time in the Toronto area with customers.
Deal terms were not announced. STRATACACHE is solely owned by Riegel.
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