Former Xerox manager buys 3Touch

Technology firm 3Touch has been acquired by the former head of Xerox's Irish operations, Joe Browne.

3Touch is an Irish audio visual technology company with offices at Athlone, County Westmeath and in Cambridge in the UK,

Mr Browne has taken a majority shareholding in the company acquired from the existing shareholders, who include Enterprise Ireland, the Western Development Commission and a range of smaller investors, who continue to retain a stake.

The purchase price has not been disclosed.

Mr Brown, who was with Xerox for over 18 years has been appointed chief executive.

3Touch develops and supplies innovative software solutions to the broad audio visual and media management industry.

Announcing the purchase yesterday, Mr Browne said the company would continue to focus its resources on the UK and Irish markets over the next two years.

"We plan to establish the company in these markets and develop a credible and scalable business platform for future investment growth," he said.

3Touch was founded in 2003 by a group of investors with the support of Enterprise Ireland and the company was linked to Athlone Institute of Technology (AIT).

Enterprise Ireland identified it as a high potential start up and 3Touch spent a number of years developing its brand and products.

It has developed a research and development partnership programme with AIT and continues to invest in research and development to support future solutions development.

Enterprise Ireland's chief executive, Frank Ryan, said the company's solutions were underpinned by a strong commitment to research and development and added that such areas were a priority for Enterprise Ireland.