Planar (Beaverton, OR; www.planar.com) said earlier this month the company sold CoolSign assets to Bally Gaming Inc. (Las Vegas, NV; www.ballytech.com) for exclusive use of the technology within the gaming industry. Bally acquired the CoolSign asset for cash the report stated. The transaction closed on November 14, 2008. CoolSign is digital signage software that displays, distributes, and controls digital media on networked digital displays. Planar acquired the CoolSign technology when it acquired Clarity Visual Systems in July 2006.

Steve Sechrist
Senior Analyst and Editor

"The two companies have been working together for over five years", Brad Gleeson, VP at Planar told us in a recent phone interview, "so the Bally’s purchase was a "natural fit." But with this part of the business so successful for CoolSign, why sell? "As a company, we decided to capitalize on the CoolSign IP, and to do so, we either had to expand the scope by taking on more services, personnel etc., to generate more revenue and profit" Gleeson explained. "To do this in the present economic climate didn’t make a lot of sense to us."

While Planar sold the CoolSign assets to Bally, they still retained exclusive rights to all other markets, uses and applications. Looking forward, Planar will be evaluating strategic business relationships and opportunities with respect to CoolSign outside the gaming industry including banks, retail chains, advertising networks and corporate communication networks.

Planar intends to continue to offer CoolSign products and services, including software, networked displays and technical support services, to its network of resellers and customers worldwide.

"CoolSign is a strategic addition to Ballys." Gleeson said. "The company can now deliver a complete networked solution for global gaming industry. Something the company calls the ‘Networked Floor of the Future.’" The acquisition extends Bally’s technology offerings to its customers in the gaming industry that include marketing and media communications to the player in the form of CoolSign networked or standalone digital displays.

Demand from Bally’s customers helped drive the acquisition. "Our customers have consistently asked to have one tool for creating media that can be displayed anywhere in their businesses," said Bruce Rowe, Bally’s Senior Vice President in the recent press release. And Gleeson told us the slot machine is morphing into a "gaming kiosk with a lever on the side-an all digital asset that talks to other displays on the network in a coordinated system. Each game is a digital media end-point."

For example, Rowe continued, "This product will create the capability to link customized marketing and promotional messages throughout the casino enterprise in a way envisioned, but never done before." Bally’s product line includes reel-spinning slot machines, video slots, wide-area progressives, and Class II, lottery and central determination games and platforms.

As for Planar (and the now whittled down a bit) CoolSign software asset, the company will continue to look for a buyer and Gleeson hinted that there may be an announcement coming very soon, so stay tuned. - Steve Sechrist

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