Shriro Sweden, the holding company of Victor Hasselblad AB, and part of the Hong Kong-headquartered Shriro Group, has announced the acquisition of leading international high-end scanner and digital cameraback manufacturer, Imacon. The move will see Imacon and Hasselblad merge to accelerate Hasselblad's ambitions in the professional digital photographic sector, and creates what the new company believes to be the leading single source supplier for digital photography at the top end of the professional photographic market.

Christian Poulsen, founder of Imacon, and CEO of the newly-enlarged Hasselblad said, "Hasselblad has long been synonymous with quality in the field of analogue photography and Imacon is recognised as leading the way in terms of innovative technologies in the high-end digital photographic sectors.

"This new company presents us with tremendous opportunities moving forward and is the most exciting development in the field of professional digital photography for many years. It will significantly lower the barriers to entry and allow more photographers than ever before to realise the quality, versatility and performance of our high-end digital solutions."

Lars Pappila, managing director of Hasselblad's Swedish HQ, added, "The professional photographic market has truly entered the digital age and Hasselblad needed to further develop its digital offering to ensure it maintains its leading position in the photographic sector. We had been working closely with Imacon on developing professional digital solutions for the Ixpress digital camera back and the Hasselblad H1. During this process we discovered a number of natural synergies between the two companies.

"We both share a similar culture of passion for quality based on strong core Scandinavian business values and recognise the extraordinary benefits of combining our respective experience in these fields. Using a combination of leading edge technology and strong photographic heritage, the new organisation will enable us to increase the digitisation for Hasselblad customers, and introduce new customers to truly advanced professional digital solutions."

Poulsen concluded, "Both companies are committed to producing the highest quality products and the integration of established technological expertise and vision will ensure we maximise penetration for both new and existing products in the marketplace. The newly enlarged Hasselblad can not only optimise the quality and value of the captured image, but also dramatically increase the pleasure of capturing the image itself -- the true essence of all photography."