EXCLUSIVE: Insider information given to ChannnelNews indicates that the deal to secure a long term future for Pronto has fallen over with Philips now moving to shut down the struggling universal remote control operation.The on off rescue deal which would have saved Philips having to make people redundant days out from Christmas is believed to have involved arch competitor RCI who after several weeks of discussions with Philips chose to walk away from a deal.

In October, Philips announced to their dealer network that the Pronto division was struggling and that they intended to shut the division down. According to sources, a few days later several companies from the USA, Asia and Europe expressed an interest in talking to Philips about the Pronto business which is under pressure from a new generation of IP based control applications that can run on an iPhone, iPad or Android based phone.

According to an RTI source “The deal is over, what Philips do is up to them”. They said.

Last month it appeared that it was business as normal for the Philips Pronto Division, after the European company shipped samples of their new in-wall touchscreen, the TSW9500 to Qualifi their Australian distributor.

According to Michael Henriksen, the CEO of Qualifi, the Philips Pronto business has been up for sale for some time and after discussions broke down with prospective buyers the company decided to announce the closure of the business.

Pronto dealers whom ChannelNews has spoken to claim they doubt that the Philips business will survive.