Autodesk aquires Alias
From the Autodesk website: “Autodesk today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Alias, a privately held developer of 3D graphics technology, for $182 million in cash. This acquisition will grow Autodesk’s expertise and offerings in the film and video, interactive games, media, Web, consumer products, industrial design, automotive, architecture and visualization markets. Autodesk anticipates that the transaction will close within the next four to six months.”
Alias is the maker of such high end 3D modeling tools as Maya (used extensively in the movie and special effects industry, ie. Pixar) and Studio Tools (the industry standard for designing automobiles).