Today, MakeMusic announced that Launch Equity will purchase the company. You can read MakeMusic’s press release here. Launch Equity proposed the buyout last July (July 15, 2012), with the intent of taking the company private and then investing money into the company for a new CEO as well as updating software (particularly Finale’s base code).
In July, Launch Equity proposed a purchase price of $4.30 per share for the acquisition, it turns out they will actually buy the company at $4.85 per share–which is 31% above the stock price as of the close of business yesterday (If someone bought a lot of MakeMusic stock yesterday, they made a lot of money today…or will when the deal closes).
I wouldn’t expect too many changes from MakeMusic in the immediate future. The company has recently rebranded itself (take a look at their webpage and social media efforts), has an iPad app for SmartMusic in development, and continues to expand the SmartMusic library.
Launch Equity proposed several things from their proposal back in July (available here), which (other than taking the company private) include:
- Investing at least $10 million in MakeMusic
- Recruiting (and retaining) a CEO (remember that the CFO has been the interim CEO)
- Upgrading Finale (and SmartMusic)
So…it is a big day for MakeMusic–and probably a normal day as well, as the agreement doesn’t become official until Q2. What you can expect from MakeMusic is continued service and support–and I think more exciting days are coming in the future!
Technology in Music Education 