Yamaha Corporation has reached a basic agreement to acquire 100% of the common stock of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH, a division of Pinnacle Systems, Inc. The acquisition, which includes Steinberg’s U.S. sales operations, took place through closed competitive bidding on December 20, 2004.
Steinberg Media Technologies, founded in 1984, became part of the Pinnacle Systems Group in January 2003.
In the mid 1990s, Yamaha forged a relationship with Steinberg by using its computer music products and bundled software. In April 2004, Yamaha and Steinberg deepened their cooperative relationship with the Studio Connections initiative, a joint-development project to seamlessly integrate Yamaha’s hardware products with Steinberg’s software.
Now, Yamaha has reached agreement to acquire all of Steinberg’s common stock through closed competitive bidding. Yamaha has incorporated Steinberg’s assets, including its strong technical capabilities in software development and intellectual property, into its Group efforts and further strengthened these activities through joint-development projects.
The total acquisition amount is $28.5 million. This acquisition will be effective in late January 2005 after the necessary legal steps are taken.
With the acquisition of Steinberg, Yamaha plans to further promote the Studio Connection initiative and realize seamless technical integration of hardware, such as synthesizers and digital mixers, and software. Another goal of the acquisition is to expand the market by making it easier for both general users and professionals alike to create music in a broad variety of genres.
For further details, visit Yamaha’s Website at www.global.yamaha.com/index.html.
