Компания Tasco объявила о своей ликвидации, а поскольку им принадлежит и Celestron, то есть угроза, что Meade скоро окажется на рынке один и цены возрастут. Впрочем, пока еще есть надежда...

Вот пара сообщений для тех кому интересны подробности.

WASHINGTON, May 29 (Reuters) - Antitrust enforcers at the U.S. Federal Trade
Commission moved Wednesday to head off any possible merger between the two
largest U.S. telescope makers.

The FTC's five commissioners voted unanimously to seek a court order barring
a merger between Meade Instruments Corp. (MEAD) and Celestron International,
even though the companies have not publicly announced any merger plans.

The agency said it took the unusual, preemptive step because Meade "has
indicated its strong interest in acquiring all, or some of, Celestron's
assets" and might be able to do so without giving any notice to the agency.

Representatives of the two companies could not immediately be reached for
comment.

A deal combining No. 1 U.S. telescope maker Meade with No. 2 Celestron would
hurt competition in the market for telescopes used by astronomy enthusiasts,
the FTC said.

Even more alarming to the agency, Meade and Celestron would have an outright
monopoly in the market for high-performance telescopes, known as
Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes, the agency said.

The two California-based companies make telescopes, binoculars and
microscopes. In its most recent fiscal year, Meade reported sales of $123
million, with $113 million of this attributable to the sale of telescopes
and related accessories, and $97 million of the total derived from North
American sales, the FTC said.

The move comes 10 years after the FTC blocked a 1991 merger proposal by
Meade and Celestron because of similar concerns. Since then, Celestron has
been acquired by another competitor, a Florida company called Tasco
Holdings.

The agency issued an order barring any deal between Meade and Celestron for
10 years. That order recently expired.

U.S. law typically requires that merger partners notify antitrust agencies
if they are planning any merger valued at more than $50 million.

However, the FTC said a Meade-Celestron merger might not require
notification because of exemptions in the merger laws. REUTERS

_____________________________________________

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 29, 2002--Meade Instruments Corp. MEAD
today confirmed that it had recently explored the feasibility of acquiring
certain of the assets of Tasco Worldwide, Inc., a distributor of telescopes,
recreational binoculars, and rifle/pistol scopes, and Celestron
International, Inc., a manufacturer and distributor of telescopes and
binoculars. No agreement was reached with either Tasco or Celestron and
negotiations ceased several weeks ago.

Новая информация по Celestron:

June 29, 2002 | The world's second-largest manufacturer of telescopes for serious astronomy enthusiasts has a new lease on life following the liquidation of its parent company. Yesterday three senior managers of Celestron International announced that they have purchased the assets of the company, as well as the name "Celestron," from now-defunct Tasco Worldwide. In a statement released yesterday Joseph A. Lupica Jr., Alan Hale, and Richard Hedrick pledged that they will continue to operate the business without interruption from its long-time headquarters in Torrance, California.
Celestron's fate came into question in late May when Tasco, which had purchased the legendary telescope maker in 1998, disclosed that it was liquidating its assets - including Celestron - after defaulting on some $30 million in loans. Lupica and his colleagues immediately entered into negotiations to save Celestron, which began mass-producing large-aperture Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes in the 1970s. But their efforts were hampered by lawsuits filed by Meade Instruments, also based in Southern California and the world's largest manufacturer of commercial telescopes. The lawsuits allege patent infringement involving technologies built into the two companies' computer-controlled "Go To" telescopes. In addition to acquiring Celestron's material and goodwill assets, the company's new owners and managers have inherited these legal battles, which will likely take years to make their way through the courts.

In the statement published on Celestron's Web site, Hedrick - who will serve as senior vice-president and chief technology officer - says, "This acquisition allows us to continue development of new products and give uninterrupted support to existing products in the marketplace." He adds, "I can appreciate our customers' concerns and share their excitement that Celestron will continue to be a force in the amateur astronomy community."

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