2023 will be a year for history at Videocorp. First, because it celebrates 40 years of being one of the most important players in the videosecurity, Audio and Video (AV) and broadcast industries in Chile and other countries in the region. Second, because it has just been acquired by the manufacturer Ricoh.
ConsorcioTec spoke with Alfonso Vergara Rivera, who belongs to the family that until now owned Videocorp. He told us that "2 years ago Ricoh asked us to implement some projects. After the good result, at InfoComm 2022 they expressed interest in the acquisition, which we finalized after 16 months of negotiation."
Ricoh took ownership of the AV and security businesses in Chile and Peru, which will continue to operate under the Videocorp name. The Colombia office did not enter into the negotiation because its operation is mainly broadcast, but a commitment was made not to continue operations in the AV and security sectors.
The business, however, did include Cayman, a distributor of AV products with a presence in Peru and Chile, which had been created by Videocorp two years ago to separate its distribution and integration lines. Jan Mengdehl continues as its general manager.
Ricoh is looking to focus on integrating and executing AV-as-a-Service projects, as it has been doing in Europe and the United States. In Latin America, they are just beginning to apply this approach through the acquisition of Videocorp.
Alfonso Vergara Rivera will continue to be linked to the company for the next three years as an advisor. 150 of Videocorp's 170 employees now become part of Ricoh, which has 3,000 employees in Latin America and 90,000 worldwide. Meanwhile, Felipe Hoyuela remains at the head of Videocorp.
"We have been very concerned about our collaborators, to provide them with a good projection. We feel enormous satisfaction that people who have been with us for many years, continue with good company," said Alfonso Vergara Rivera.
Following this negotiation, the Vergara family continues with a significant investment in the rental company RLA Event Technologies. And the broadcast area, which accounts for 30% of Videocorp's business, is still in its hands under the name Dynamics Media Group, of which Alfonso Vergara Rivera is its CEO. This operation has a team of 10 people in Chile and 10 in Colombia.