Avid Technology has acquired Munich-based
NXN Software , the leading provider of asset and production management systems specifically targeted for the entertainment and computer graphics industries, in a cash transaction valued at approximately EUR35 million. The acquisition expands Avid's leadership in digital asset management by enabling the company's film and video postproduction, broadcast and 3D animation customers to leverage the cutting edge workflow capabilities of the acclaimed NXN alienbrain product line.
"Professional content creators continue to look for ways to simplify the extremely complex process of managing large volumes of digital assets, and NXN's ground-breaking software has rapidly become the media management tool of choice for leading content creation companies, including Sony Pictures Imageworks, China Central Television and Electronic Arts," said David Krall, Avid's president and ceo. "Alienbrain systems will enhance the asset and production management features of Avid's industry-leading content creation tools, making it easy for customers to track, store, and control virtually every version and type of file in a digital project. As we integrate this powerful technology, we look forward to extending our reach in the increasingly important digital asset management market, while continuing to serve the thousands of NXN customers currently using alienbrain systems."
Gregor vom Scheidt, founder and ceo of NXN, who will be staying on as a managing director for Avid, commented, "There is tremendous synergy between Avid's 'make manage and move media' strategy and NXN's core philosophy of enabling customers to manage and track all of the media assets they create. We're extremely pleased to join a world-class company like Avid, which will now be able to deliver the most comprehensive digital asset management systems on the market. Whether working on film, video, broadcast news or 3D animation projects, customers using alienbrain software will always know that they are working with the most current files, and can forget about accidentally overwriting or losing valuable project data."
NXN's market-leading products -- NXN alienbrain VFX, NXN alienbrain Studio and NXN alienbrain Engineer -- extend Avid's current media asset management offerings with extraordinary capabilities that include infrastructure, configuration, project and workflow management, as well as complete version control. Designed to work with any file format associated with 3D models, textures, video, audio, source code and office documents, NXN systems enable users to easily manage assets throughout all phases of a digital project. A wide range of 3D, graphics, source code and administrative applications support the alienbrain product family directly in the application menu, including SOFTIMAGEXSI, Alias Maya, Alias StudioTools, Discreet 3ds max, Adobe Photoshop and Metrowerks CodeWarrior, as well as Microsoft PowerPoint, Excel, Word, Windows Explorer and Visual Studio.
Avid Technology Inc. (
www.avid.com ) is a leader in digital nonlinear media creation, management and distribution solutions, enabling film, video, audio, animation, games and broadcast news professionals to work more efficiently, productively and creatively.
NXN Software AG (
www.nxn-software.com ) provides designers, programmers and project managers with a powerful framework to manage all assets throughout the development process. Companies using NXN software include many of the world's most renowned entertainment studios, such as Sony, Electronic Arts, LucasArts and Atari. NXN has offices in Los Angeles, Paris, London, Munich and Tokyo.
