Avid has agreed to sell its consumer audio and video
product lines to inMusic as well as its video editing line
to Corel, as part of the company's effort to streamilne its
operations and improve its profits.
Avid has initiated a series of strategic actions to focus
the company on its Media Enterprise and Post & Professional
customers and to drive improved operating performance. As
part of these actions, the company is divesting its
consumer businesses.
Avid has agreed to sell its consumer audio and video
product lines. The company's consumer audio products are
being sold to inMusic, the parent company of Akai
Professional, Alesis and Numark, among others.
Headquartered in Cumberland, Rhode Island, inMusic's brands
are best known for producing products for music production,
performance and DJing. The products involved in this
transaction include M-Audio brand keyboards, controllers,
interfaces, speakers and digital DJ equipment and other
product lines. Avid will continue to develop and sell its
Pro Tools line of software and hardware, as well as
associated I/O devices including Mbox and Fast Track.
Separately, Avin's consumer video editing line is being
sold to Corel. The products involved in this transaction
include Avid Studio, Pinnacle Studio, and the Avid Studio
App for the Apple iPad, as well as other legacy video
capture products.
The divested product lines contributed approximately $91
million of Avid?s 2011 revenue of $677 million. As part of
the transactions, certain employees of Avid will transfer
to each acquiring company. Avid estimates that the proceeds
from these transactions will be approximately $17 million,
subject to closing inventory adjustment, with a portion
held in escrow. Both transactions are expected to close
today, July 2, 2012.
Avid also plans to lay off approximately 20% of its
permanent employee base.
"The changes we are announcing today make Avid a more
focused and agile company," said Gary Greenfield, CEO of
Avid. "By streamlining and simplifying operations, we
expect to deliver improved financial performance and
partner more closely with our enterprise and professional
customers. Our objective remains to provide these customers
with the innovative solutions that allow them to create the
most listened to, most watched and most loved media in the
world. I?m excited about our future prospects."