It’s a done deal.
Avid Technology has officially been acquired by an affiliate of private equity firm Symphony Technology Group (STG) in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $1.4 billion.
Avid is the maker of popular music production software Pro Tools, which is widely used in the recording industry. The company claims on its website that every record nominated for Record of the Year at the 2022 Grammys was made with the help of Pro Tools.
The acquisition was previously announced on August 9, 2023, and approved by Avid stockholders on November 2, 2023.
Under the terms of the merger agreement, stockholders of Avid (which previously traded on the Nasdaq) will receive $27.05 per share.
The big-money acquisition of Avid, one of the world’s most prominent makers of professional music-making software, arrives amid the private equity sector’s continued interest in the music technology space.
As recently as the first week of August, multiple investors were vying to purchase Avid, among them Francisco Partners, the private equity firm that acquired Berlin-based music tech company Native Instruments in 2021, and Kobalt Music Group in 2022.
As a result of the completion of this transaction, Avid common stock ceased trading prior to the opening of trading on Tuesday (November 7), and will no longer be listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
Avid now will operate as a privately-held company and remain headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts.
In addition to music production software Pro Tools, Avid makes Live sound software Avid VENUE and music notation software AudioScore.
Avid also operates a DIY music distribution service called AvidPlay Music Distribution, which distributes music to over 150 platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and Tidal.
“BY BECOMING A PRIVATE COMPANY, WE BELIEVE AVID WILL BE ABLE TO ACHIEVE THE SPEED OF INNOVATION, SCALE AND PERFORMANCE REQUIRED FOR US TO CONTINUE LEADING THE INDUSTRY FORWARD.”
JEFF ROSICA, AVID
“By becoming a private company, we believe Avid will be able to achieve the speed of innovation, scale and performance required for us to continue leading the industry forward,” said Jeff Rosica, Avid’s Chief Executive Officer and President.
“Combined with their significant operational and financial resources, STG brings deep investment experience in the technology sector that will accelerate the achievement of Avid’s strategic vision, building on the momentum of our successful ongoing transformation achieved over the past several years.”
“WE ARE EXCITED TO BEGIN THE NEXT PHASE OF AVID’S JOURNEY. AVID’S SOLUTIONS ARE INTEGRAL TO CONTENT CREATION AND MANAGEMENT WORKFLOWS ACROSS THE FILM, TELEVISION AND MUSIC MARKETS.”
WILLIAM CHISHOLM, STG
William Chisholm, Managing Partner, and Patrick Fouhy, Principal, of STG, said: “We are excited to begin the next phase of Avid’s journey. Avid’s solutions are integral to content creation and management workflows across the film, television and music markets.
“Building on Avid’s established leadership position, we look forward to accelerating Avid’s growth trajectory through a deep focus on innovation and delivering enhanced customer value.”