IBC: Avid acquires Pluto Technologies

AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS – Avid Technology (Tewksbury, MA) announced it is acquiring Pluto Technologies (Boulder, CO), a privately held manufacturer of digital video storage and networking systems. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Pluto's Boulder facility will become a technology development center for Avid. Pluto president and CEO Mark Gray will head up Broadcast Business Development for Avid and the Pluto brand name will be phased out.

The acquisition teams Pluto's advanced storage technology with Avid's editing systems in a deal that complements both companies, according to officials. Pluto's AirSPACE, VideoSPACE and HyperSPACE servers have focused on the high end broadcast and post production markets, including HD, digital cinema, and broadcast news editing, an area to which Avid is increasing its marketing efforts.

"Adding Pluto's technology to our own is especially important to the future success of Avid Unity for News and Newscutter Solutions," says Joe Bentivegna, VP and GM of Avid Media Solutions, the division of Avid which will oversee the acquisition. "For instance the combination of NewsCutter XP and AirSPACE NP systems results in the most feature-rich and cost-effective solution for broadcast news editing and playout from any vendor."

Gray noted that Pluto needed an expanded distribution channel for its products and Avid wanted to provide complete solutions to its customers and that the deal accomplishes both goals. "Over the years, Pluto and Avid have shared a vision to deliver total broadcast solutions. This deal builds on the historical collaboration between the two companies," Gray said. "Our customers and the industry in general will benefit greatly as these solutions are formally combined into a single, more powerful platform under the auspices of a single vendor."

Edited by Tom Butts
Managing Editor, Digital Broadcasting.com