PC graphics board maker Guillemot Corp has snapped up the remains of defunct rival, Hercules Computer Technology Inc, in a $1.5m deal that gives the company the rights to Hercules’ designs and patents and – most importantly – its name. The Montreal, Canada- based company says that all of its products will be branded under the well-respected Hercules marquee.
Fremont, California-based Hercules claimed to have developed the worlds first graphics card in 1982 – the Hercules Monochrome Graphics Adapter – and it pioneered high-end PC graphics hardware in the late eighties and early nineties. However, the firm’s fortunes waned as the nineties progressed. Last year Elsa AG of Aachen, Germany announced its intention to buy Hercules for $8.5m in cash. However, the deal fell through last November because the firms could not agree terms. In August, all of the company’s employees walked out. Hercules declared itself bankrupt soon after.
