Coreco Completes U.S. Acquisition: Sales Expected to More Than Double.

Business Editors

MONTREAL--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 4, 2000

Coreco Inc., (TSE:CRC.) a leader in computer vision products, announced that it has completed the acquisition of all the shares of Imaging Technology Incorporated from Fairey Group plc, effective June 30, 2000.

With the acquisition of Imaging Technology ("ITI"), based in Bedford, Massachusetts, Coreco gains a complementary product line and enlarges its market coverage -- establishing itself as the number one supplier of vision boards to OEMs and system integrators worldwide.

ITI (www.imaging.com) designs and manufactures computer vision hardware and software for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and system integrators in North and South America, Europe and Asia. Its principal products are high-performance, high-volume frame grabbers which complement Coreco's own high-end line of frame grabbers and allow the Company to address a previously unserved market.

The ITI acquisition brings Coreco a stronger presence and new customers in both the U.S. and international markets. The Company will now have offices in the Eastern, Central and Western parts of the U.S., complementing its own indirect sales channels and allowing it to better serve its customers' needs. In addition, Coreco gains nine exclusive U.S. distributors and nineteen system integrators together with access to customers in the automobile industry located in Central U.S.A.

Internationally, Coreco expands its geographic presence from 20 to 35 countries. In Europe, it acquires complementary sales channels as well as the largest European distributor, providing it with strong market coverage in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Scandinavia. In the Asian market, ITI significantly augments Coreco's current presence in Japan, Korea and Taiwan.

The acquisition of ITI was carried out for approximately US$14.5 million in cash. Of this amount, US$9.0 million was paid from existing funds and the remainder of US$5.5 million was financed. The latter will be reimbursed by cash flow from normal operating activities. The purchase price includes intangible assets of approximately US$11 million, primarily technology rights and in process research and development costs. The Company expects to amortize this amount over a period not exceeding 36 months.

For the year ended December 31, 1999, ITI recorded revenues of approximately US$15 million. With the future contribution of ITI, Coreco expects to achieve revenues of C$30 million in fiscal 2000 and C$47 million in fiscal 2001, an increase of 73% and 57%, respectively, over fiscal 1999 revenues of C$17.3 million. ITI will begin to contribute to Coreco's results in the third quarter ending September 30, 2000.

"This acquisition," commented Coreco CEO Keith Reuben, "marks an important step in our Company's growth. It strengthens our current position in the vision board market, while providing a significant increase in our revenues and earnings effective immediately. Looking ahead, we will focus on maximizing the benefits of our complementary product lines and moving up the value chain to address the even larger market for complete vision systems."

Coreco Inc. is a leader in the design, development, manufacturing and marketing of hardware and software for high-performance computer vision applications, primarily in the medical imaging, machine vision and industrial inspection markets. With the acquisition of Imaging Technology, Incorporated, the Company now employs approximately 160 people and has operations in Montreal (QC), Ottawa (ON), Vancouver (BC) and Bedford (MA), with sales offices in Cleveland (OH), Boston (MA) and San Juan Capistrano (CA). Founded in 1979, Coreco's ever-growing success is driven by its commitment to the research and development of value-added products to serve the evolving needs of the computer vision market.

This press release contains statements that are forward-looking and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated.