Carl Zeiss Ltd. announced Tuesday it will acquire Imaging Associates Ltd. (IMAS), a maker of products for scientific digital imaging and light microscopy, for an undisclosed amount. IMAS, which is based in Bicester, England, and has 16 employees, generated more than £3 million (about $4.4 million) in revenue last fiscal year. The company was established in 1992 by a team of image analysis and microscopy specialists formerly of the Image Analysis Div. of Kontron Electronics in Watford, England. Following the acquisition of Kontron's Image Analysis Div. by Carl Zeiss in 1996, IMAS continued to provide sales, application support and system integration to Carl Zeiss for microscopy imaging products. In 2001 IMAS was appointed exclusive distributor for the Carl Zeiss materials microscopy product range in the UK. “IMAS brings a wealth of knowledge on the training and support of customers to Carl Zeiss. Of real additional value is IMAS’ proven ability over the years to provide high-quality support for digital imaging platforms in research, clinical and industrial environments,” said Paul Adderley, managing director of Carl Zeiss Ltd. "Imaging Associates and Carl Zeiss Ltd. have maintained a close strategic partnership for more than 10 years, particularly in the areas of digital imaging, analysis and materials microscopy," said René Hessling, head of the Microscopy Div. of Carl Zeiss Ltd. "The integration of Imaging Associates into the Carl Zeiss Group is the next step in the development of this association. The new structure will allow Carl Zeiss to expand its technical support and develop new markets and applications." Carl Zeiss Ltd. makes binoculars, spotting scopes and riflescopes as well as instruments for ophthalmology and surgery, laser-scanning and light microscopes, and imaging systems. “The current microscopy product portfolio of Carl Zeiss presents an ideal platform for providing customer-specific solutions. The integration with Carl Zeiss will allow IMAS to contribute its expertise in software application development and support of digital imaging systems across the entire range of microscopy products,” said Leslie Stump, managing director of Imaging Associates. Imaging Associates will continue to distribute MetaSystems Cytogenetic imaging systems, the company said. For more information, visit: www.imas.co.uk