http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=med ... 5fcfb32b1f

Avid to Acquire M-Audio
Deal will unite two leaders in the audio industry

Avid today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire M-Audio.

To read the press release, click here.

Q and A's For M-Audio Customers

1. Why did Avid decide to pursue this acquisition?

Avid is continuously seeking to offer its customers tools that make them more creative and productive. This acquisition expands Avid’s leadership in digital audio and represents an attractive growth opportunity for Digidesign in that market. M-Audio’s line of products – aimed primarily at musicians and recording enthusiasts – complements Digidesign’s strengths in the home and professional markets. Overall, the acquisition puts Avid in a position to reach an increasingly broad spectrum of audio customers, from music hobbyists with simple home studios to facility owners, recording artists, audio engineers, and film sound professionals. When the acquisition is complete, we will have strengthened our investment in the overall home studio market segment, the fastest growing portion of our audio business, where we achieved roughly 40% year-over-year growth in Q2 of 2004.

2. How much will Avid pay for M-Audio?

At closing, Avid will pay approximately $80 million in cash, issue approximately 2 million shares of Avid common stock, and assume all outstanding M-Audio stock options, which will cover approximately 325,000 additional shares of Avid common stock. Earn-outs of $20 million and $25 million may be payable to M-Audio’s equity holders, for the periods ending January 31, 2005, and December 31, 2005, respectively, based on the successful achievement of certain financial milestones relating to the sale of M-Audio products. The earn-out payments will be paid in stock based on Avid’s stock price at the time the earn-outs are paid. All shares issued in the acquisition will be registered for resale following the closing.

3. Will M-Audio operate as a division of Avid?

When the acquisition is complete, M-Audio will operate as a business unit of Digidesign, Avid’s audio division.

4. What areas of Digidesign and M-Audio will merge?

Digidesign and M-Audio will not merge. When the acquisition is complete, M-Audio will be a business unit within Digidesign, and will continue to function as it has in the past.

5. Will M-Audio move its headquarters to Daly City or Tewksbury?

No, M-Audio’s headquarters will remain in Irwindale, CA, and there are no plans to relocate this facility as a result of the acquisition.

6. Are pricing changes planned?

No pricing changes are planned for either M-Audio or Digidesign products as a result of this acquisition.

7. How will Digidesign’s products, such as Pro Tools, integrate with M-Audio systems?

Many of M-Audio’s products – such as keyboards, MIDI interfaces, microphones, and speakers – are already in use in conjunction with Pro Tools systems. Other M-Audio products, such as computer peripherals, are not currently compatible with Pro Tools. While the companies may discuss these types of combinations in the future where they make sense, there are no plans to integrate Digidesign and M-Audio products as part of this acquisition announcement.

8. Does Digidesign plan to develop a Pro Tools application for M-Audio hardware?

Currently the Pro Tools LE software application is written specifically to operate with Digidesign’s line of LE hardware interfaces for reliability, performance, and ease of setup. Digidesign also includes industry standard drivers (Core Audio and ASIO) with LE products, so that any piece of compatible software can use them for audio recording and playback. While the companies may discuss integrated product development initiatives in the future where it makes sense, there are no plans to develop Pro Tools for M-Audio hardware as part of this acquisition announcement.

9. Are there plans to brand M-Audio gear as Digidesign and eliminate the M-Audio name from the MI landscape altogether, as Apple did with E-Magic?

There are no plans to change M-Audio branding or product names as a result of this acquisition announcement. Once the acquisition is complete, the M-Audio product line will remain intact and retain the M-Audio brand identity. In addition, M-Audio is a respected brand name that appeals to musicians and home recording enthusiasts. While Digidesign has also been extremely successful in this market segment with its LE line of “home” products, the combination of our product lines following the acquisition will extend our reach to touch more customers in this key growth area. Retaining the M-Audio name will allow Digidesign to reach a wider range of audio customers overall, but will not confuse brand identities in different market segments.

10. Will M-Audio customers have new sales/support contacts within their respective regions?

After the acquisition is completed, M-Audio customers will retain the same sales and support contacts as they have had in the past. No changes are currently planned for local offices in different regions and geographies.

11. Will there be changes to the technical support that M-Audio customers receive?

No changes in customer support are expected as a result of this acquisition announcement.


12. Will Digidesign be launching any upgrade/exchange promotions to M-Audio customers?

There are no plans for exchange programs for M-Audio customers as a result of this acquisition announcement. Once the acquisition is complete, Digidesign may consider offering exchange programs to M-Audio customers that are comparable to the hardware exchanges currently available to Digidesign customers.

13. Where will M-Audio customers go for technical support?

Once the acquisition is complete, M-Audio customers will continue to contact M-Audio for all technical assistance as they have done in the past.

Senzační zpráva s nechutným obsahem : "There are no plans ...."... nebo jsem něco přehlíd ?

Je to škoda ,-((((

A co je skoda? Jak to tak ctu tak proste jenom pisou ze vsechno zustane jak bylo..

že by jakože nezůstalo jen u rejžování zlatáku .. ale že by předělali MAudio na superior quality - low price ,-))))))