US float is sound move for Dolby

FORTY years ago in London, American Ray Dolby started a company to develop the technology to remove the hiss from tape-recordings.

That company's shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange yesterday and the entrepreneur, now 71, is celebrating becoming a dollar billionaire.

Dolby Laboratories started in Clapham Road, South London, but was always incorporated in the US. Its owner switched corporate headquarters to San Francisco in 1976.

The company's developments in noise reduction have made Dolby a household name for music and movie fans.

Dolby revealed recently that all films nominated for Oscars this year in the sound-editing and soundmixing categories use Dolby Digital or Dolby Digital Surround EX technology. Those films included The Incredibles, Ray and Spider-Man 2.

The company said yesterday that it had sold 17m shares at $18 each to raise $495m (£262m). Ray Dolby sold a further 17m to give him $306m. His remaining holding - about 70% of the company - is worth $1.2bn.

Dolby Laboratories made a net profit of $39.8m in the 12 months to 24 September.