Founded in 1969 by Dennis Baylin, Betacom is an electronics company specialising in audio and visual products. In 1992

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

Alan Sugar Alan Michael Sugar, Baron Sugar (born 24 March 1947) is a British business magnate, media personality, author, politician and political adviser. In 1968, he started what would later become his largest business venture, consumer electronics com ...

Amstrad Amstrad was a British electronics company, founded in 1968 by Alan Sugar at the age of 21. The name is a contraction of Alan Michael Sugar Trading. It was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in April 1980. During the late 1980s, Amstrad ...

purchased a 29.9% stake in the company from Canon Street Investments PLC. A rights issue and subscription increased Amstrad's shareholding in Betacom to 71.3%. Betacom, a UK-based domestic telephone supplier provided Amstrad with a foothold in the developing

telecommunications Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...

market . The following year, repayment and cancellation of share capital involving a

scheme of arrangement A scheme of arrangement (or a "scheme of reconstruction") is a court-approved agreement between a company and its shareholders or creditors (e.g. lenders or debenture holders). It may affect mergers and amalgamations and may alter shareholder o ...

, as a result of which Amstrad's shareholding in Betacom reduced to 66.2%. In 1996, Amstrad granted Betacom a licence to use the Amstrad brand on consumer electronics products. In 1997 Amstrad plc was de-listed from the

stock exchange A stock exchange, securities exchange, or bourse is an exchange where stockbrokers and traders can buy and sell securities, such as shares of stock, bonds and other financial instruments. Stock exchanges may also provide facilities for th ...

and each shareholder received loan notes, shares in Viglen Technology plc (a newly listed company), shares in Betacom plc and a letter of entitlement to the potential net proceeds arising from two court cases. In November of the same year, Betacom plc changed its name to Amstrad PLC. In 1999, Amstrad sold the Betacom business to Alba plc along with Answercall and Cable & Wireless branded telecommunications business for £4M in cash.

References

Amstrad Company Profile
Computer companies of the United Kingdom Electronics companies of the United Kingdom {{manufacturing-company-stub