Yesterday in a surprise announcement, Barco announced that it has “acquired” all assets of popular LED fixture and display manufacturer, Element Labs. Technically, Barco acquired all Intellectual Property, rights and know-how of Element Labs. Effective immediately, the name Element Labs ceases to exist and all employees of Element Labs now fall under the Barco name.

Why the surprise move from Barco?  “This expands Barco’s portfolio for the mid-range markets,” Eric Van Zele, Barco’s President and CEO, comments. “Element Labs’ products in these markets have proven their worth on many occasions and perfectly complement Barco’s more high-end oriented market portfolio.”

If we read between the lines there, Barco wants to offer not only the high end LED display market, but also the mid-range market as well.  What is next, the low-end market? Here is a little more from the official press release from Barco about the “transition” and what our friends from Element Labs can expect.

With immediate effect, the name “Element Labs” ceases to exist. Structured as an asset sales transaction, Barco obtains all product designs, rights and intellectual property of Element Labs, without assuming the liabilities of the former EL-company. As of today, the core team of Element Labs in Santa Clara, California, will function as Barco’s competence center for creative LED solutions, whereas Barco Kuurne (Belgium) will remain the competence center for tiled LED solutions. Barco will announce its new mid-range LED products in the coming months.