Sony Europe has acquired Memnon Archiving Services, a Brussels-based digitisation and digital archive facility.

The deal includes all assets, including intellectual property and Memnon’s technology and software engineering capabilities.

Memnon will become a part of Sony Professional, Sony Europe.

Sony professional vice president Katsunori Yamanouchi (pictured) said: “Memnon has industry leading experience in handling and managing precious archives, experience which is recognised by a wide range of highly regarded institutions around the world.

“Together with Memnon, Sony will be able to support customers in the challenge to preserve hundreds of millions of hours of AV archive content and invaluable assets, in various formats.

“This is an ideal extension to Sony’s Media Lifecycle Service and current worldwide portfolio of AV and IT solutions, enhancing an already impressive offering of asset digitisation, storage, distribution and monetisation capabilities.”

Memnon chief executive Michel Merten added: “This acquisition by Sony creates the opportunity to bring together Memnon’s unique expertise around digitisation, archiving and monetisation of great volumes of audio-visual archives, held by broadcasters, public and private institutions, universities, sports organisations, amongst many, with Sony’s great heritage and exceptional knowledge of broadcast and audio-visual technologies.

“Our combined capabilities will help our customers around the world address their urgent preservation challenges of their most precious assets: their contents.”