 In January 2005, Orion was acquired by Imaginova, the U.S. conglomerate founded in 1999 by CNN business anchor Lou Dobbs.Orion then began to sell non-Orion brand products, such as Tele Vue eyepieces and even Celestron and Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes.In November 2017, Orion was repurchased by its employees, and has remained independent and American-owned ever since.