Published 1/2/05
Deal worth $28.5 million concluded in January
Pinnacle Systems confirmed at the UUS NAMM show in January 2005 that they have completed the sale of Steinberg to Yamaha, just two years after buying out the German audio software manufacturers, in a deal worth $28.5-million (approx. £16 million).
Yamaha have a long association with Steinberg and last year announced the Studio Connections initiative, designed to provide close integration between the two companies' products. When rumours that Pinnacle were eager to sell Steinberg began to circulate, Yamaha were the most obvious buyer in many peoples' eyes.
Pinnacle had no involvement in the audio software market, seemingly rather unstable of late, before their takeover of Steinberg at the beginning of 2003, and there's much talk of "tightening the company's focus on [their] core strengths in the digital video solutions market" in their corporate statements.
Yamaha, meanwhile, plan to "further promote the Studio Connections initiative and realise seamless technical integration of hardware, such as synthesizers and digital mixers, and software".
Yamaha announced their intention to retain the existing distribution network for Steinberg products outside of the USA, but effective immediately Yamaha in the USA have taken on the task of retail/dealer distribution for North America.
