Alias to Acquire Kaydara

Aug 9, 2004 12:45 PM

Los Angeles, SIGGRAPH, August 8, 2004 - Alias and Kaydara announced that Alias has signed an agreement to acquire Kaydara, a leading developer of real-time 3D character animation and motion editing solutions in the entertainment industry. SIGGRAPH 2004 marks Alias' debut as an independent company following the completion of Alias' acquisition by Accel-KKR and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan from SGI. Alias is the leading provider of 3D graphics technology and services for the film, video games, web, interactive media, automotive, industrial design, education and visualization markets.

"Kaydara has quickly become the recognized leader in its field, and this strategic acquisition brings an additional pool of highly complementary intellectual and technical property to Alias' existing product and service portfolio," said Doug Walker, president of Alias. "This move effectively unites the top 3D product development talent in Toronto and Montreal--allowing our team to harness this combined creative power and deliver innovative 3D software solutions that enable our customers to create, visualize and communicate the world's most compelling digital visual experiences."

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 has built an impressive business over the past ten years, serving a number of leading clients in the television, film, game development, and Web content industries," said Michel Besner, president of Kaydara. "The time was right to team up with Alias, as Kaydara will now benefit from access to further investment, Alias' existing technology, and the company's strong global marketing and distribution network. Ultimately, this union will bring even greater value to customers of both companies and the overall 3D industry."

Kaydara products--most notably MOTIONBUILDER and Kaydara FBX--will continue to support all current industry platforms and will be sold as standalone products under the Alias brand name. Kaydara FBX, a widely used standard for the universal exchange and reuse of 3D content, will continue to be offered as a vendor neutral format. MOTIONBUILDER's unique real-time architecture, intelligent character technology and breakthrough story system lets any 3D animator create state-of-the-art results in record time, while FBX allows animation teams to easily transfer assets between multiple tools used during production. Recognizing the importance of openness and accessibility in the production pipeline, Alias has pledged to continue to offer Kaydara FBX as a vendor neutral format, further underscoring the company's commitment to the overall success of the 3D industry.

"The future for Alias is incredibly positive," Walker continued. "This is our first major step taken since becoming an independent company and operating in an environment enabling Alias to deliver significant new value to our customers in a shorter period of time. We're in a unique position to push the science of 3D further and faster than we ever have before, and we'll continue to evaluate organic growth opportunities and additional strategic acquisitions in the design and entertainment markets."

The purchase is expected to close within 60 days, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions.

About Alias As the world's leading innovator of 3D graphics technology, Alias 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. On March 1, 2003, for the awards year 2002, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarded Alias|Wavefront an Oscar for scientific and technical achievement for the development of Maya software, the professional 3D animation and effects package. Alias also offers a powerful range of services for new to advanced users in the most demanding environments. Learning Tools and training, support, and professional services help meet rigorous production deadlines.

Entertainment customers include: Acclaim Entertainment, Inc., CNN, Digital Domain, Disney, Electronic Arts, Industrial Light & Magic, Factor 5 LLC, Midway Games, Nintendo, Pacific Data Images (PDI), Pixar, Sega, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Square Enix Co., Ltd., Warner Feature Animation and Weta Ltd. Design customers include AT&T, BMW, Boeing, Fiat, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Italdesign, Kodak, Kwikset, Mattel, Price Pfister, Renault, Rollerblade, Sharp, Trek Bicycle, Teague and Timex.

Alias is headquartered in Toronto with a Custom Development Center in Santa Barbara. Please visit the Alias website at www.alias.com or call 1-800-447-2542 in North America. International contact numbers include: Northern Europe, Middle East and Africa, +44 (0) 1494 441273; Germany, East & Southeast Europe, 0049 89 31 70 20; France, Spain and Portugal, +33 1 44 92 81 60; Italy, 39 039 6340011; Japan and other parts of Asia Pacific, 81 3 5797 3500 and Latin America, 770 393 1881.

About Kaydara Inc.
Over the course of the past decade, Kaydara has become a leader in the development of real-time 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, including Sony Computer Entertainment of America, Midway Games, Ubisoft, Acclaim, Electronic Arts, Sony Picture Imageworks, Square Enix Co., Ltd., Capcom and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Kaydara is headquartered in Montréal, Canada, and has an international presence with sales offices throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia. For more information about Kaydara or its products, visit www.kaydara.com. Copyright 2004 Alias Systems Corp. ("Alias"). All rights reserved. Alias, the swirl logo and Maya are registered trademarks and Alias|Wavefront is a trademark of Alias in the United States and/or other countries. SGI is a registered trademark of Silicon Graphics, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries worldwide. Kaydara and MOTIONBUILDER are registered trademarks and FBX is a trademark of Kaydara Inc. Oscar is a registered trademark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. SIGGRAPH is a registered trademark of the Association for Computing Machinery, Inc. All other products or companies mentioned are trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.

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