Adobe To Acquire Macromedia In $3.4B Deal

**A face** · 18/04/2005, 6:02 PM

Adobe To Acquire Macromedia In $3.4B Deal

Adobe Systems, one of the world's largest providers of document design software, will acquire Macromedia in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $3.4 billion, the companies announced Monday.

Adobe's software includes the popular Acrobat and Photoshop program. San Francisco-based Macromedia makes the Dreamweaver and Flash web-design software.

Read more at www.crn.com

**A face** · 18/04/2005, 6:03 PM

Monopolies are the job !!

Great news for anyone working with this software !!

**pete** · 19/04/2005, 9:02 PM

Originally Posted by A face

Monopolies are the job !!

How are they a monopoly? Adobe & Macromedia don't really control any market.

Acrobat is excellent application. Only product i've really used from Macromedia besides Flash was Cold Fusion.

**A face** · 19/04/2005, 10:07 PM

Originally Posted by pete

How are they a monopoly? Adobe & Macromedia don't really control any market.

Jebus Pete .... i would have thought the had it well sewn up between the two of them well before this deal. The only other graphics package of any note would be Paint Shop Pro by Jasc, who have now merged with Corel (Mac software) who were big a few years back but Adode have been wiping the floor with them since Photoshop 3.0 (is 8.0 out now ??)

So Adobe would now manage Acrobat, GoLive, InDesign (an another magazine type publisher, cant remember the name) Premier (who have something to do with VideoWave), PageMill and loads more Adobe stuff along with Macromedia (straight away) Shockwave and flash players online and Flash itself, Cold Fusion, Dreamweaver and UltraDev, Freehand (also Adobe Illustrator) Director and Fireworks. All the photograph stuff aswell and the graphic tablets stuff.

That is one hell of a range

The only thing they aren't doing now is any of the 3D studio max or Viz stuff or anything along the lines of AutoCAD or Pro Engineer. They basically have the whole lot sewn up for graphics !! Expect huge price tags for a start !!

**Jim Smith** · 19/04/2005, 10:18 PM

Originally Posted by A face

...Corel (Mac software) who were big a few years back but Adode have been wiping the floor with them since Photoshop 3.0 (is 8.0 out now ??)

Please stop talking nonsense...

**pete** · 19/04/2005, 10:35 PM

Ok i obviously don't have a clue about graphics packages.

Didn't MS buy Corel a few years ago?

If they are going to be a monopoly they probably won't be allowed by regulators in the US?

**A face** · 19/04/2005, 11:33 PM

Originally Posted by Jim Smith

Please stop talking nonsense...

I'm not saying Corel is gone or anything but you'd have to admit that Adobe have taken a huge section of the market for themselves at least in the last five years at least.

**aido_b** · 20/04/2005, 12:32 AM

I concur!

**Pauro 76** · 22/04/2005, 9:42 AM

So Freehand is no more? Adobe seem to have completely taken over the shop, everyone used to use Quark in the graphic design end of things, but more and more people are using Adobe InDesign now, cheaper and a lot more to it as well... fair play to them, Photoshop and Illustrator are excellent packages....

**dahamsta** · 22/04/2005, 10:14 AM

No offense face, but this is no more a monopoly than I am. There were some similarities between some of their products lines, but most of the time you'd be stretching definitions to call it consolidation. The Photoshop example doesn't apply, for example, since although there was some crossover with some of MM's products, they were effectively aimed at different markets. The Photoshop section of the company had little or nothing to gain from the acquisition.

Dreamweaver and Flash are obviously valuable properties, but I wouldn't have pegged them at €3.4b. I'd tend to agree with the market commentators that suggest that it was a panic defensive buy to prevent Microsoft getting their hands on it, because the bossman in there thinks for some bizarre reason that he's a Microsoft competitor.

adam