Holy cow (not my first choice of words)! In light of what's going on with Sibelius (Avid is closing the British office and moving the development to offices they currently have in Kiev and somewhere else that I can't remember, effectively gutting the development team that made Sibelius into the great program it is), this is totally scary news and makes me think that in a couple of years there won't be any new versions of notation software around unless a new kid on the block comes forward. There is a group of people being organized that is going to try to buy Sibelius from Avid and keep the British office open and the current development team intact. But those poor people already have their resumes sent out looking for new jobs, so if the process takes very long the developers won't be available anymore to keep the vision going.
At least the statements that LaunchEquityPartners plan to keep the Finale development team together gives a little hope for the future, but when equity companies buy an existing company, these days it usually results in total destruction of the company being bought out. I'm very confused by the LaunchEquity statement that it will have to invest $10million the next two years to recruit and retain a new CEO -- Hell, I'll move to Eden Prairie and do the job for $4million over 2 years. No, wait, I'll do it for $2million over two years. No, wait, I'll come do it for $1million over two years. That'll sure beat the hell out of my current annual salary! It's this top-heavy salary structure that greedy CEO-type people demand that is ruining companies left and right. Oh, well, Justin, I hope that at least they aren't lying about the fact that they will keep the current development team -- and I certainly hope they maintain a commitment to Finale's future. If both Sibelius and Finale go down the tubes, there's nothing left for the notation marketplace, and printed music isn't going away anytime soon, so what'll fill the void? And thank you, Justin, for those two links and for sharing with us what you can -- I realize that you are prevented from doing more. Please know that my thoughts and prayers are with you (and the rest of the workers at MakeMusic) that your jobs are secure long into the future! David H. Bailey On 7/17/2012 10:52 PM, Phillips, Justin wrote: > Hi all, > > Here's what I posted on our user forum regarding this development: > > I can't speculate or offer any additional information beyond what is > contained in the proposal we received from LaunchEquity Partners, LLC and > the press release we issued this morning regarding the matter. I've linked > to both below: > > www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/920707/000092189512001507/ex99113da807845ma > k_071512.htm > > www.makemusic.com/Pressroom/Default.aspx?pid=555 > > However, I can offer some key quotes from the proposal. > > On the matter of "liquidation", the following is from LaunchEquity > Partners, LLC's proposal: > > "We hereby propose directly or through a newly-created entity to purchase > the operating assets of the company, excluding cash, and assume the > related liabilities, of MMUS (the ³Assets²), free and clear of all liens > and encumbrances, for $13.5 million. Including the cash retained by MMUS, > our offer values the business at approximately $21.2 million. We have > calculated the purchase price on the basis of publicly available > information. Our offer is conditioned upon, among other things, MMUS > adopting a plan of liquidation simultaneously with shareholder approval of > the sale of Assets, which we believe should enable MMUS to distribute > approximately $4.30 per share to shareholders. Such amount represents a > 20% premium to the closing share price on July 13, 2012. We would explore > with MMUS ways to maximize the cash that would be distributed in such > liquidation." > > In addition: > > "We project that we will also need to inject at least $10 million over the > next two years to (a) recruit and retain a new CEO, (b) upgrade both the > Notation and SmartMusic software product lines and (c) cover working > capital and seasonal liquidity needs." > > Finally: > > "Further, it is our intention to retain MMUS¹s employees as we view them > to be a significant asset of the company." > > The current action MakeMusic, Inc is taking at this point is as follows, > from our press release this morning: > > "Consistent with its fiduciary duties, MakeMusic¹s Board of Directors has > appointed a Special Committee of independent, disinterested directors to > review and consider the proposal, in consultation with financial and legal > advisors, and determine the course of action that it believes is in the > best interests of MakeMusic and its shareholders. The Board has authorized > the Special Committee to consider the full range of available strategic > alternatives including, but not limited to, continuing as an independent, > public company with MakeMusic¹s current growth plans." > > If anyone has any questions regarding these developments, please feel free > to send any inquiries to [email protected]. > > As things develop, we will be operating as normal and no change at this > point to the development and roadmap announcements we have made so far. > > -- David H. Bailey [email protected] _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
