by Anton Shilov
12/07/2003 | 11:48 PM
Scipher – the owner of Sensaura – said late last week it had completed the sale of its 3D Sound business to Creative Technology. The move may revolutionize the market of audio controllers for PC.
<%BANNER[article]%>Creative paid cash on completion of $5.6 million and, in addition, Scipher has retained the outstanding trade debtors of $0.8 million, valuing the Sensaura business at $6.4 million. The proceeds of the disposal will be used to strengthen Scipher’s balance sheet.
Creative has acquired the business and assets of Scipher’s 3D Sound business, Sensaura, including the intellectual property and commercial agreements relating to the business. Sensaura says its licensees control in excess of 60% of the world’s PC audio chip market. The technology has recently been incorporated into Microsoft’s XBOX game console, and software-based 3D sound has been developed for Sony’s PlayStation 2.
The list of Sensaura’s licensees includes Yamaha, NVIDIA, VIA Technologies, ESS Technology, ADI, Crystal Cirrus Logic and C-Media. It is not announced how Creative Technology will now deal with its current competitors.