Avid sells audio and video editing business and lays off some staff

Avid has announced that it will sell both its M-Audio audio business and its consumer video editing business. M-Audio will be owned by inMusic, while the video editing technology will be sold to Corel.

The acquisitions are worth USD 17 million. Avid says the sale of the audio and video business is necessary to target the professional market and the enterprise segment. The US company suffered losses after it bought Pinnacle Systems and competed with Apple. In addition to products for consumers, Avid also makes professional products for Hollywood productions.

The consumer audio business is sold to inMusic, the parent company of Akai Professional, Alesis and Numark, among others. The production of all equipment of the M-Audio brand will be in the hands of inMusic. M-Audio is known for keyboards, speakers and other consumer audio hardware. The video arm’s sales include Avid Studio, Pinnacle Studio and the recently announced Avid Studio App for the iPad. In addition, Corel is acquiring a number of legacy products.

In addition to the acquisitions, Avid announces that it will lay off approximately 20 percent of its workforce. The company will therefore send home about 350 people of the current 1750 employees.