Key Developments: Bankruptcy and Potential Takeover
The Moscow Arbitration Court has granted the lawsuit filed by OOO “DNS Retail”, part of the DNS group, to declare OOO “Kvant” bankrupt. OOO “Kvant” is the legal entity specializing in the assembly of domestic televisions, operating under the “Kvant” group of companies led by Mikhail Etonov. This information was reported by “Kommersant,” citing data from the arbitration case file.
The “Kvant” group manufactured products under the Irbis brand, with assembly facilities located in Voronezh and Zelenograd. Notably, “Kvant” was the sole television manufacturer listed in the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s registry of radio electronics.
Future of Kvant’s Assets: NexTouch’s Interest
Following the bankruptcy declaration, NexTouch, a manufacturer of interactive screens, has announced its intention to acquire Kvant’s assets. The deal is estimated to be valued between 1 and 1.5 billion rubles. This potential acquisition could significantly influence the future of the production capabilities and intellectual property of the only Russian TV manufacturer from the official registry.
This is a bummer, but not entirely unexpected. I’ve used Irbis TVs in a couple of smaller office setups, mostly for basic display purposes. They were always a bit hit-or-miss with smart features; the interface could be sluggish, and app compatibility was often an issue. Picture quality was decent for the price point, though. If NexTouch can streamline the software and integrate some better smart capabilities, there might be a future. My tip would be to focus on robust, no-frills displays rather than trying to compete with global smart TV giants.