New York - Sony Corporation of America (NYSE: SNE) announced on Tuesday that it will acquire Gracenote, a provider of digital media identification and recommendation services, for $260 million plus other contingent consideration. Founded in 1998, Emeryville, Calif.-based Gracenote developed the CD identification technology that has become the standard used by software like Apple's iTunes, Yahoo's Music Jukebox and Winamp, and on portable music players from Sony, Samsung and others.

"Gracenote is a global leader in technology and services for digital media identification, enrichment, and recommendation, and these capabilities will be essential to the next wave of innovation in content, services, and consumer electronics," said Tim Schaaff, SVP of software at Sony Corporation of America.

"Sony sees tremendous growth potential in developing Gracenote as a separately run business unit, and by broadly embracing Gracenote's platforms, Sony expects to significantly enhance and accelerate its own digital content, service, and device initiatives."

The deal is expected to close in late May.

Related Links:
http://www.gracenote.com/company_info/press/042208