Adobe to buy Macromedia's India center

By agencies   |   Tuesday, 17 May 2005, 19:30 IST
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BANGALORE: As global techies consolidate, they are leaving a trail of mergers in India too. Close on the heels of Oracle buying Hexaware and Convansys development centers, $1.7 billion Adobe is now acquiring Macromedia’s Bangalore based development center. Macromedia’s 8.1 percent stake in Mumbai-based mobile gaming company Indiagames is learnt to move to Adobe India too, financial daily Economic Times reports. Though Adobe as well as Macromedia India heads refused to confirm or deny the merger of India entities, sources in the company confirm that it is only logical that the two India development centers will be merged once the transaction is completed. The transaction is expected to close in four to six months. “It is too early to talk about these details. These issues will be sorted out in next few months when the transaction is completed,’’ the report said quoting Naresh Gupta, head, Adobe India. A combined stake of 18.2 percent in Indiagames was acquired by Macromedia and Cisco for a total of $4 million from existing investor TOM Online recently. Of this, Macromedia’s 8.1 percent stake is now expected to be transferred to Adobe after closure of Macromedia sale to Adobe. Indiagames is a homegrown developer of games and other software for the mobile handset market. Adobe’s India development center, housing over 500 techies, is its second largest outside the U.S. and the third largest overall. Contributing close to 20 percent of the company’s engineering efforts, its India development center has already filed twenty-five patents. Overall, the company plans to invest a total of $50 million by 2007 in India. Macromedia’s R&D team today is estimated to be 150 strong and is expected to grow to 250 by the year-end, the report said. Adobe’s internal communication also talks of “integration team reviewing the worldwide location of both companies’’ but does not give details of what facilities will finally be integrated. “Where it makes sense, we anticipate the combined company will consolidate facilities as appropriate. Between now and the close of this transaction, the integration team will review the worldwide locations of both companies and make recommendations to the integration steering committee regarding future plans based on our hiring plans and location of our customers,’’ says Adobe’s internal website.

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