Charlottetown-based ScreenScape Networks,  which makes technology for video displays, has been acquired by Tampa, Fla.-based Spectrio for an undisclosed price.

Founded by CEO Mark Hemphill in 2007, ScreenScape helps businesses and organizations that want to advertise on location-based video monitors. The company, which employs 25 people, offers an easy-to-use, cost-effective product that is well suited for business franchises such as chain stores.

Owned by the New York private equity venture The Jordan Company, Spectrio makes multimedia marketing solutions such as on-hold telephone messages, automated attendant greetings, and digital signage solutions for waiting areas and retail spaces. The U.S. company, one of the largest providers of customer engagement technology in the U.S., said the acquisition will add to its suite of digital solutions and enhance its strategic communications capabilities.

“We are delighted to partner with Spectrio so we can provide new and unique digital solutions for our global clients,” said Hemphill in a statement. “Spectrio’s industry experience will help our clients continue to build their brands and create engaging messaging that can be utilized throughout the customer journey.”

He added in an interview that Spectrio has assured ScreenScape customers that the sales and support employees they’ve got to know will remain with the company, which means the team will remain in P.E.I.

He said that the sale is a win for Prince Edward Island. The company has about 45 investors, divided evenly between the Island and Ontario, and it was nurtured originally at University of P.E.I. “This is a total P.E.I. success story,” he said.

ScreenScape found its product-market fit in 2014, he said, and sales have done well since then. In 2017, Canadian Business magazine ranked ScreenScape as the 34th fastest-growing tech company in Canada with 591 percent revenue growth over five years.

Hemphill said Spectrio was attracted to ScreenScape because its latest ScreenScape 5 product is a best-in-breed product for video displays. What’s more, its sales and customer support can all be carried out remotely due to its plug-and-play system and ease of use. That means ScreenScape has shorter sales cycles and lower cost of customer acquisition than its competitors, said Hemphill.

“If that wasn’t obvious before COVID hit, it became really obvious once the pandemic came along,” said Hemphill. “COVID has shown us we were quite a bit different.”

The ScreenScape sale is the fourth exit in Atlantic Canada in the last two months, with one taking place in each province. Last month, Fredericton-based C-Therm Technologies was sold to its Managing Director Adam Harris. In November, St. John’s-based Verafin was bought by Nasdaq for US$2.8 billion, and on the same day Halifax-based Salesright was purchased by Santa Barbara, Calif.-based FastSpring.