Wednesday 05 Oct 2005 - 11:09
Autodesk on Tuesday announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire Alias – the makers of rival 3D software Maya, MotionBuilder and other software. The deal is valued at $182 million in cash.
Autodesk is the company behind AutoCAD, the standard in CAD software. The company also owns Discreet, developers of Combustion, the compositing application used in cinema and video, and Maya-rival 3DS Max.
Carl Bass, Autodesk COO, describes the two companies as having complementary solutions for design and media customers. "By combining the technology and talents of our two companies, we will be better able to continue delivering solutions that address our customers' complex needs," said Bass in a statement.
Alias was, up until 2004, a subsidiary of Silicon Graphics Inc. (SGI). In April, 2004, it was announced that Alias was to be acquired by Accel-KKR, a private equity firm, assisted by Alias' own management. The deal was valued at $57.5 million. Alias then went on to acquire Kaydara, developers of MotionBuilder and creators of the FBX 3D authoring and interchange format.
The acquisition is subject to closing conditions and regulatory approval.
We'll bring you more as this story develops...
Peter Cohen
For more information see the Alias Web site.
For more information see the Autodesk Web site.
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