Business sale prompts huge windfalls for employees

Employees of pioneering Scottish micro-screen company, Forth Dimension Displays, have landed windfalls averaging £20,000 after the company was sold for £7 million to US-based LCD developer, Kopin.

The company had established an exemplary international reputation for its high-resolution screens and simulation technology. They signed a landmark deal last year with the US Army to provide simulator training helmets for helicopter pilots and tank commanders.

The firm's chief executive, Greg Truman, said the sale of the Fife-based company followed an exceptionally exciting 2010. He explained that the decision to sell the firm, however, had been made to provide a reasonable and profitable exit point for the venture capitalists who had helped generate the funding for the firm to get off the ground in the first place.

"But from the point of view of the staff and the company, however, it was also about finding a sale that was the right fit, which I think that has been achieved," he said. "Our products and Kopin’s products are certainly complementary, and the deal will also open up new markets for us, particularly in consumer electronics where traditionally we have not been that strong."

He also said that Kopin, which specialises in lightweight, power-efficient LCDs, has the funds available to invest in greater facilities in Scotland and has no plans to move the company away from there.