Numark, Akai, Alesis Purchase M-Audio and AIR Software

US Surprise acquisition shakes things up. 02/07/12

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This one just arrived and frankly was a bit of a surprise. Jack O’Donnell the enigimatic owner of Numark, Alesis, Akai Professional, ION, Alto Professional and more recently Sonivox, has just bought M-Audio (“The world’s largest manufacturer of keyboard controllers and a category leader in studio monitors and computer recording tools for musicians.” ) and AIR Software Group (“a cutting-edge audio software and technology development team”) from AVID.

We’re told by Numark/Alesis that all our contacts at both companies (AIR and M-Audio) will remain the same, implying that there is not likely to be any immediate consolidation (redundancies to you and I).

We’re also informed that the AIR Software Group will continue to develop for the ProTools platform.

Excerpts from the inMusic press release follows:

“By acquiring the AIR Software Group and M-Audio, we’re not only broadening but also
deepening our commitment to the future of music creation and production,” said Jack
O’Donnell, owner and CEO, inMusic. “All of our brands are technology leaders, and they
all have tremendous market momentum. With the addition of AIR and M-Audio, we’re in
an even better position to push the boundaries of computer-based composition, production, and performance. Naturally this will be very positive for musicians, who will
get better software, better hardware, and a much more integrated music-making
experience as a result.”

The acquisitions also signal a new relationship with Avid. The AIR Software Group will
continue to develop and maintain technologies for the Avid Pro Tools family of digital
audio workstations, and a number of M-Audio products will continue to include Pro Tools
software. Select Akai Professional and Alesis products will also now include Pro Tools,
bringing the leading professional production software to a whole new audience of
musicians, producers, and engineers.

Interesting, what do you think?