Thomson Acquires Convergent

Very quietly, it would seem, but it has happened. How do I know this? Well, I saw this article on aka.tv. I recall seeing the original press release somewhere, but I can't find it now, unfortunately. Oh, and Convergent's web pages, press releases, etc. all say that they're a unit of Technicolor, which is in turn a unit of Thomson. As aka notes:

The deal, which was initiated in November 2005 and closed in January this year without official announcement from either company, represents a major development for the sector, and is further evidence of Thomson's intention to move into the out-of-home video market.

Thomson is understood to have made the acquisition to take advantage of Convergent's advanced technical infrastructure for the electronic distribution of digital content.

According to a Thomson statement released today, Convergent now serves as the "network hub for Technicolor Network Services' North American operations, and is focused on developing new business in the out-of-home advertising (digital signage) segment, and upgrading existing corporate communications (BTV) and interactive distance learning (IDL) networks to digital platforms, while servicing other Thomson and Technicolor businesses".

So if this was a technology acquisition, what does this mean for Convergent's customers, if anything? And didn't they do a lot of business selling Sony hardware and services? What will happen to that? And how will Convergent interact with PRN now (if at all)? Wow, this certainly raises a lot more questions than it answers.