Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

DAPs

Rio MP3 Player Business is Sold to SigmaTel

D&M Holdings Inc. to Sell Rio’s Technology Assets to SigmaTel, Inc.

TOKYO – July 26, 2005 – D&M Holdings Inc. (TSE II: 6735) announced today it has signed an agreement to sell certain intellectual property and other technology assets of the Rio MP3 player business to SigmaTel, Inc. (NASDAQ: SGTL), a leading supplier of integrated circuits (ICs) for the portable digital audio player market.

As part of the agreement, SigmaTel will hire most of the technical development personnel of Rio. Rio will retain full access to its MP3 technology that it has agreed to sell to SigmaTel via a no-fee, grant-back license conditioned on its use of the SigmaTel platform in MP3 products. Financial terms were not disclosed.

D&M Holdings owns Denon, Marantz, McIntosh Laboratory and the D&M Professional, ReplayTV, Rio and Escient brands.

SigmaTel’s industry-leading portable digital audio technology can be found within the latest MP3 players made by Rio, Creative, GoVideo, Memorex, Samsung, Thomson RCA and many others. To date, SigmaTel’s focus has been on flash-based players, which is the largest segment of the MP3 player market, however, the company also supplies the technology for hard-drive designs by Rio, including the Rio Carbon and Nitrus, and also by GoVideo, Creative and Memorex.

“Engineers from Rio and SigmaTel have worked together for years improving MP3 software and creating great value for the consumer,” said Vic Pacor, president of D&M Holdings. “We are transferring the Rio technical and engineering resources to SigmaTel, where they can be better leveraged through SigmaTel’s considerably larger scale in the MP3 business,” he said. “We received an attractive offer for the Rio assets that we are selling, and we have secured access to enabling technology for the MP3 category of products without carrying the full cost of the technology,” Pacor said.

D&M Holdings publicly disclosed in May that it was examining strategic options to reduce the effect Rio’s losses had on the company.

D&M Holdings is expected to recognize approximately (US) $7 million extraordinary gain in the second quarter of the 2005 fiscal year. D&M Holdings will not adjust the FY05 profit and loss forecast at this time because it is currently examining additional strategic options for Rio, and the financial impact of such options is unknown.

About D&M Holdings Inc.
D&M Holdings Inc. (TSE II: 6735) is based in Tokyo and owns the Denon, Marantz, McIntosh Laboratory, D&M Professional, ReplayTV, Rio and Escient brands. Denon, Marantz, McIntosh and D&M Professional are global industry leaders in the specialist home theater, audio/video consumer electronics or professional audio markets, with a strong and long-standing heritage of manufacturing and marketing high-performance audio and video components. The ReplayTV, Rio and Escient brands represent award-winning technologies in digital home entertainment. Additional information is available at www.dm-holdings.com.

About SigmaTel, Inc.
SigmaTel, Inc., a fabless semiconductor company headquartered in Austin, Texas, designs, develops, and markets proprietary, analog intensive, mixed-signal ICs for a variety of products in the consumer electronics and computing markets, including portable compressed audio players, such as MP3 players, notebook and desktop PCs, DVD players, digital televisions, and set-top boxes. SigmaTel provides complete, system-level solutions that include highly-integrated ICs, customizable firmware and software, software development tools, reference designs, and applications support. The Company’s focus is on providing system-level solutions that enable customers to rapidly introduce and offer electronic products that are small, light-weight, power-efficient, reliable, and cost-effective. SigmaTel is ISO 9001:2000 certified and is committed to providing customers with high performance, quality products along with superior customer service. For more information, please visit www.sigmatel.com.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement

Latest Products

Bang & Olufsen Beo Grace Wireless ANC Earbuds in hand at sunset

New Products

$1,500 Beo Grace earbuds from Bang & Olufsen push luxury, style, and audio performance but don’t forget the optional $400 leather pouch.

David Beckham wearing black Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 wireless headphones David Beckham wearing black Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 wireless headphones

New Products

Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 delivers flagship wireless sound, upgraded ANC, and aptX lossless at $799—lighter, smaller, and a strong value vs Focal and...

Campfire Audio Portable DAC Wallet with Relay Dongle and IEMs Campfire Audio Portable DAC Wallet with Relay Dongle and IEMs

Dongle DACs

This $59 portable DAC Wallet magnetically attaches to the back of iPhone to keep your dongle DAC and headphone cables in order.

Sennheiser HD 505 BAMM Inline Boom Mic Accessory Add-on Sennheiser HD 505 BAMM Inline Boom Mic Accessory Add-on

New Products

Sennheiser HD 500 BAM adds a pro mic to 500 series headphones. No support for other brands, but max compatibility with PCs, consoles and...

KEF Muo SilverDusk portable Bluetooth speaker by pool KEF Muo SilverDusk portable Bluetooth speaker by pool

New Products

KEF Muo ($249.99) arrives Sept 23 for myKEF, full launch Sept 30—Bluetooth 5.4, aptX Adaptive, IP67, 24hr battery, and P-Flex racetrack driver.

Triangle Garden 7 Outdoor Speaker Gray Lifestyle Triangle Garden 7 Outdoor Speaker Gray Lifestyle

New Products

Available in green or gray, Triangle’s GARDEN 7 outdoor speaker delivers 360-degree sound, IP66 weatherproofing, and LED lighting at a reasonable price.

Gift Ideas?

Vinyl Music Lover Gift Guide 2025

Gift Guides

A new turntable, phono stage, cartridge or speaker could be the upgrade you've been looking for or the perfect gift for any vinyl lover.

You May Also Like

Advertisement

ecoustics is a hi-fi and music magazine offering product reviews, podcasts, news and advice for aspiring audiophiles, home theater enthusiasts and headphone hipsters. Read more

Copyright © 1999-2024 ecoustics | Disclaimer: We may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.



SVS Bluesound PSB Speakers NAD Cambridge Audio Q Acoustics Denon Marantz Focal Naim Audio RSL Speakers