Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, August 13, 1994 TAG: 9408150042
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Kodak, which previously owned a 50 percent share of Qualex, announced Friday that it had acquired the rest of the company from the Actava Group Inc. of Atlanta for $150 million.
Qualex operates a photofinishing plant at 622 Huntington Blvd. N.E. that employs roughly 90 people. The company processes photography film for several major retailers, including Kroger Co., Kmart, and Revco and Rite-Aid drugstores.
The company, which was formed in 1988 by a merger of Kodak's and Actava's photofinishing operations, operates approximately 50 photofinishing plants across the United States.
As part of the sale, Actava has signed an agreement not to compete with Kodak in the photofinishing business. Peter D. Fitzgerald, president and chief executive officer of Qualex, will continue to manage the company.
Qualex's Roanoke business originally was known as Roanoke Photo Finishing. That company, whose roots went back to 1902, was sold to Colorcraft of Durham in 1977, which became part of Qualex in 1988.
"We have acquired the remaining 50 percent interest in Qualex as part of our renewed concentration on imaging business opportunities," said David P. Biehn, vice president and general manager of Kodak's Consumer Imaging Group.
Stock of Rochester, N.Y.-based Eastman Kodak closed Friday at $49 per share, up $1 from Thursday's close on the New York Stock Exchange. Actava's stock, also traded on the New York exchange, closed at $10.621/2, up 121/2 cents per share.
Qualex was one of six companies held by Actava Group. All deal in leisure products or services.
by CNB