Sony Pictures Digital has purchased all of the desktop software products and related assets of Sonic Foundry, Inc. for $18 million cash and assumption of certain trade payables, accrued liabilities and capital leases associated with the desktop software business.
This brings in-house Screenblast Movie Studio and Screenblast Music Studio, the music- and video-editing applications created from Sonic Foundry software combined with Sony assets. Sony Pictures Digital sold the video and music-mixing applications through the Screenblast online service and they are now available at retail outlets,
Sale of the desktop software assets includes Sonic Foundry's popular, industry-leading ACID, Sound Forge and Vegas series of software products, as well as other related assets. Sony anticipates maintaining the engineering groups base in Madison, Wisconsin.
The Board of Directors of Sonic Foundry has approved the transaction and certain shareholders have agreed to vote their shares in favor of the sale. Approval of the agreement may be subject to Sonic Foundry shareholder approval at their annual meeting in June 2003.
"During the past three years, we have come to recognize and admire Sonic Foundry's engineering expertise and value their software applications," said Patrick Kennedy, evp of Sony Pictures Digital. "We are excited to integrate this world-class team and their products into our ongoing efforts to produce and deliver the next generation of consumer entertainment services."
Rimas Buinevicius, chairman and CEO of Sonic Foundry, said he felt confident about turning over his company's products to SPD. "Consummation of this agreement will give us the cash we need to pay our debt," he said, "and allow us to focus our attention on writing the next successful chapter of Sonic Foundrys story rich media and building upon the early success weve already achieved with our Web presentation solution, Media Site Live."
Sony Pictures Digital (www.sonypictures.com) oversees the digital production and online assets of Sony Pictures Entertainment and leads its efforts to develop and provide new forms of online content, games, interactive programming, open-access video-on-demand and wireless entertainment. Screenblast, which first debuted in September 2001, gives the consumer the ability to create, enhance and share their digital videos, music and photos with a combination of a powerful software suite and an easy-to-use online service for sharing and personalizing consumers media.
Founded in 1991, Sonic Foundry (www.sonicfoundry.com), offering media tools, systems and services, provides a single source for creating, managing, analyzing and enhancing media for government, business, education and entertainment. Based in Madison, Wis., Sonic has offices in Santa Monica, Toronto and Pittsburgh.
