Kopin snaps up FDD in £7m deal

The Dalgety Bay-based company, which Kopin said had annual turnover of about $6m, makes tiny screens that are used in medical and military equipment, as well as in movie cameras.

Last year the company - chaired by Fred Hallsworth, former head of accountancy firm Arthur Andersen in Scotland - unveiled plans to double its workforce to 60 after winning contracts from several firms, including German camera manufacturer Arri Group.

The expansion marked a turnaround for the firm, which faced closure in 2006. The company successfully switched its focus from making rear-screen projection technology to tiny screens that sit near to the viewer's eye.

Accounts filed at Companies House showed that FDD turned over 3m in 2009, up from 2.4m in 2008, and narrowed its losses from 1.9m to 900,000.

Greg Truman, chief executive of the Fife firm, said: "FDD is coming off a very good 2010 with design wins with several high-performance cinematography camera manufacturers."

FDD - whose shareholders were listed as venture capital investors Doughty Hanson and Amadeus - was founded in 2004 as CRLO Displays. It has offices in Germany, Japan and the US.