BTN will also Provide “Silver” Screens with Each Projector and Provide Installation Services for Over Half of the Projectors
OMAHA, Neb. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — March 18, 2010 — Ballantyne Strong, Inc. (NYSE Amex: BTN), a provider of digital cinema projection equipment and services, cinema screens and other cinema products, announced today that it will provide 66 NEC Digital Cinema projection systems with RealD 3D technology to National Amusements, Inc. (39 systems) and Marcus Theatres Corporation, a division of The Marcus Corporation (NYSE: MCS) (27 systems). With each projector Ballantyne Strong will also provide high-gain ‘silver’ screens required for 3D projection, and its service group will install over half of the projection systems. The installations are expected to be completed in the first and second quarters of calendar 2010.
Funding for the projectors was completed via Digital Link II, LLC (Digital Link II), an entity formed by RealD and Ballantyne in which Ballantyne has a 44% stake. NEC Finance provided debt financing to Digital Link II to fund the projector deployment. Ballantyne and RealD each provide guarantees for the debt based on their respective ownership in Digital Link II. The cinema screen sales are outside of the Digital Link II facility.
John P. Wilmers, Ballantyne’s CEO, commented, “We are pleased to again team with RealD to expand the digital and 3D footprints of these important, long-term customers. It is particularly gratifying given these exhibitors’ satisfaction with systems we have previously provided to them. The patron appeal and box office benefits of digital cinema and RealD 3D technology have been well demonstrated throughout the exhibition industry, driving demand for additional systems to take advantage of the growing slate of 3D releases.”
About RealD
RealD is the global leader in 3D technology for cinema, home and professional applications. RealD pioneered a revolution in cinema with its new generation 3D technology, which is deployed across the world's largest 3D platform. Beyond cinema, RealD is the worldwide inventor and provider of key stereoscopic technologies used in science, manufacturing, marketing, and other industries, with 30 years of development behind its systems. RealD's mission-critical 3D technologies are used by organizations such as NASA, Pfizer, BMW, Boeing and more. www.RealD.com
About Ballantyne Strong, Inc. ( www.ballantyne-strong.com)
Ballantyne is a provider of motion picture projection, digital cinema projection, cinema screen technology and specialty lighting equipment and services. The Company supplies major theater chains, top arenas, television and motion picture production studios, theme parks and architectural sites around the world.
Except for the historical information in this press release, it includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to, quarterly fluctuations in results; customer demand for the Company’s products; the development of new technology for alternate means of motion picture presentation; domestic and international economic conditions; the management of growth; and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Actual results may differ materially from management’s expectations.
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