Avid Technology, the leading player in video and film editing tools, has revealed it is to buy rival video-editing maker Pinnacle Systems in a deal reported to be worth $462 million. The move is the latest in a series of buy-outs in the video market, as Avid and Apple Computer battle for the professional video high ground.
The purchase by Avid prices Pinnacle at a premium of 30 per cent above its market value, and is based on a stock and cash deal. Under the terms of the agreement, Avid says it will issue 0.0869 shares of Avid and $1 in cash for each Pinnacle share. Avid says it expects to issue around 6.2 million shares – around 15 per cent of its common stock.