Done and dusted or aborted - we'll let you know
DVdoctor has just stumbled on the fact that Ulead may have been taken over by InterVideo
The move has been kept very quiet by both companies and seems not to be mentioned on either of their web sites.
Below is the relevant extract from InterVideo's annual report (FORM 10-K). The report can be read in its entirety here.
The tender expired on April 13, so the deal should by now be completed or aborted - we'll try to check over the weekend and report back on what happened. Or didn't happen.
We'll also put up a forum link once the current work on the DVdoctor forums is completed.
Tender Offer for Ulead Systems, Inc.
During the year ended December 31, 2004 and continuing through the first quarter of 2005, we purchased shares of stock in Ulead Systems, Inc. (“Ulead”), a publicly traded company in Taiwan that is a leading developer of innovative video, imaging and DVD authoring software, accumulating a total shareholding percentage of 18.5 percent as of March 31, 2005.
On March 14, 2005, we and our wholly-owned subsidiary, InterVideo Digital Technology Corp., announced the commencement of a tender offer to purchase an additional 30.1 to 65 percent of the issued shares of Ulead at 30 NTD (US$0.98) per share of Ulead common stock.
Our obligation to purchase the shares is subject to certain closing conditions, including the requirement that there have not been any material adverse change in the financial condition or business of Ulead prior to the expiration of the tender offer on April 13, 2005.
Upon the successful completion of the tender offer, the transaction will be valued at between US$23 and US$49 million, and we will own between 50.1 and 85 percent of the outstanding shares of Ulead.
These figures include the 18.5 percent of Ulead’s outstanding shares currently owned by us, the shares to be purchased in the tender offer and an additional 1.5% of Ulead’s shares to be purchased outside of the tender offer.
We currently intend to maintain Ulead as a majority-owned subsidiary on the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
We believe that our investment in Ulead will strengthen our technology offering and allow us to provide a more comprehensive digital media solution to both retail and OEM customers.
Ulead’s strengths in professional DVD authoring, video editing and still image processing complement our tools and provide enhanced opportunities for addressing emerging and rapidly growing markets including multimedia home networking, high definition and Blu-ray DVD and multimedia mobile phones.
Ulead’s complementary product offering, strong engineering resources and broad retail presence provide significant opportunities for synergies going forward.
Upon completion of the tender offer, we plan to commence the integration of products and technologies of the two companies.
