Autodesk announced yesterday that it has signed an agreement to acquire Alias, a privately held developer of 3D graphics technology, for $182 million in cash.
According to a statement, the acquisition will grow Autodesk's expertise and offerings for the design of consumer products and automotive vehicles, as well as in the media and entertainment markets. Autodesk anticipates that the transaction will close within the next four to six months, subject to a number of closing conditions, including regulatory approval.
"Our design customers are demanding more powerful visualisation, animation and publishing capabilities. Our media and entertainment customers are increasingly using the data created by our design applications for broadcast, film and games projects,” said Carl Bass, COO of Autodesk. “By combining the technology and talents of our two companies, we will be better able to continue delivering solutions that address our customers' complex needs."
Founded as Alias Research in 1983, Alias is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Alias revenues were $83 million in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2005.
Alias' product lines comprise sketching, animation, visual effects, design, modelling, rendering and reviewing solutions. Alias MotionBuilder is Alias' 3D character animation product, Alias FBX is widely used in the exchange and use of 3D content, and Maya is the company's Academy Award-winning 3D application.
Autodesk believes Alias StudioTools, software for design tasks from 2D sketches to production models, will add industrial design and high-end visualisation capabilities to its manufacturing solutions.
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