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Alias Acquisition of Kaydara Completed

Alias today announced the completion of the acquisition of Kaydara, a leading developer of realtime 3D character animation and motion editing solutions for the entertainment industry.

This strategic acquisition will unite the top 3D product development talent in Toronto and Montreal and add innovative, complementary technologies to Alias' existing product and service portfolio. This is Alias' first major step since finalizing its independence from SGI.

"When we announced our independence from SGI in June, we committed to further expand our business, extend customer value and create significant growth with our products and services. Now that we have completed this strategic acquisition, I can't wait for our customers to be able to realize the full potential of our combined product lines," said Alias president Doug Walker.

Operating under the Alias name, Kaydara will remain in Montreal and current president Michel Besner will stay with the company and join Alias' executive management team. Kaydara products most notably MOTIONBUILDER and FBX will continue to support all current industry platforms and will be sold as stand-alone products under the Alias brand name. Alias MotionBuilder 6 is expected to ship this fall.

"There is a natural fit between Alias and Kaydara's product lines. We share the same vision, strategy and goals as well as a powerhouse of tremendously talented employees," added Besner. "We are poised to bring even greater value to Alias customers and the overall 3D industry.

As a leading innovator of 3D graphics technology, Alias (www.alias.com) develops award-winning software, custom development and training solutions for the film and video, games, Web, interactive media, automotive, industrial design, education and visualization markets. Alias is headquartered in Toronto with a Custom Development Center in Santa Barbara. Alias was recently purchased by Accel-KKR, a technology-focused private equity firm, and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan.

Over the course of the past decade, Montreal-based Kaydara (www.kaydara.com) has become a leader in the development of realtime character animation and motion editing solutions for the entertainment industry. Kaydara's product portfolio serves a vast and varied range of clients in the TV, film, game development and Web content industries.

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Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.