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D&M Holdings Sells Rio MP3 Technology to SigmaTel

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 27, 2005 - 7:37am.
Tokyo -- Japanese consumer electronics maker D&M Holdings announced on Wednesday that it has agreed to sell the technology assets of its Rio MP3 player manufacturing division to SigmaTel, which makes chips used in some of Rio's portable digital audio players. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Under the deal, Texas-based SigmaTel will hire most of Rio's engineering team, while Rio will retain a license for the MP3 technology sold to SigmaTel. In addition to Rio, Tokyo-based D&M Holdings also owns the Denon, Marantz, ReplayTV and Escient brands. D&M previously announced that it was examining strategic options for its money-losing Rio unit, and said today that it is still examining a possible sale of the company. SigmaTel said that although it will not acquire ownership rights to the Rio brand or inventory, it will gain some 15 MP3-related patents in the transaction. D&M purchased Rio -- one of the first MP3 player makers -- along with ReplayTV from Sonicblue in 2003 for $36 million.
tags: D&M Holdings | Rio MP3 Technology | SigmaTel | Sells |

Apple's iTunes Store Sells 500 Millionth Song

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 18, 2005 - 9:38am.
Cupertino, Calif. -- Apple Computer announced on Monday that its iTunes Music Stores worldwide have now sold over 500 million digital song downloads. "Just over two years ago, we sold our first song. Yesterday, we sold our half billionth song. Wow!" said Apple CEO Steve Jobs. "As we cross this major milestone, we couldn't be more excited about the future of digital music, iTunes and the iPod." The company recently released an updated version of its iTunes player software that includes support for subscribing and listening to podcasts. Apple's iTunes Store now offers more than 1.5 million songs and 10,000 audiobooks for sale.
tags: Apple | iTunes Store | Sells | Mucic |

Sony Sells 500,000 PSPs in First Two Days; $150 Million in First Week

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 7, 2005 - 3:25am.
Los Angeles -- Sony said on Thursday that it sold 500,000 of its PSP handheld video game systems in North America in the $249 device's first two days on sale. The company added that the PSP generated a total of $150 million in first-week sales. Some analysts and retailers reported that while the PSP was selling well at retailers, most were not sold out of the anticipated device, for which Sony delayed its European launch to ensure that 1 million units would be on the market for the North American release.
tags: Sony | PSP | Sells |

Vivendi Universal Games Sells Knowledge Adventure Unit to VC Firms

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 5, 2004 - 3:02am.
Los Angeles -- Vivendi Universal Games, the company's video game publishing unit, announced on Tuesday that it has sold its Knowledge Adventure educational software business, to Knowledge Holdings, a holding company formed by Bay Area venture capital firms Azure Capital Partners and Telesoft Partners. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The deal divests VU Games of Knowledge Adventure's JumpStart and Mathblaster properties; however, VU Games will continue to sell and distribute the developer's titles. "The divestiture of these educational software titles is part of VUG's strategy in the U.S. to focus our business on games," said VU Games CEO Bruce Hack.
tags: VC Firms | Vivendi Universal Games | Sells | Knowledge Adventure Unit |

TeliaSonera Sells Zed to Wisdom Entertainment for $36.7 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 15, 2004 - 4:19am.
Madrid -- Wisdom Entertainment, an interactive media group based in Spain, announced that it has completed the acquisition of Sonera Zed Ltd. from TeliaSonera, a Swedish-Finnish telecommunications operator, for $36.7 million. Zed is an independent aggregator and reseller of digital content to mobile phone users. Composed of eight companies in the interactive multimedia entertainment industry, Wisdom Entertainment is involved in videogame development and distribution, computer-animated film production and mobile content development and distribution. Wisdom said that investors Apax Partners, iNova Capital and the Perez Dolset family helped finance the acquisition. In April, Apax Partners led a 39-million-euro ($48 million) investment in the group.
tags: TeliaSonera | Zed | Sells | Wisdom Entertainment |

RealNetworks Sells 3 Million $0.49 Songs in Three-Week Promotion

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 9, 2004 - 5:00am.
Seattle -- RealNetworks announced on Thursday an early close to its 49-cent song download promotion, adding that over 3 million songs were sold from its online store during the first three weeks of the scheduled month-long offer. The company said when announcing the program that cost of providing songs at such a discount would affect its third-quarter earnings. RealNetworks will continue to sell a selection of 10 songs each week at the 49-cent price point, which will be chosen by editors from RealNetworks and Rolling Stone. RealNetworks also said it will integrate Harmony -- its technology that enables songs purchased from its store to play on Apple's iPod -- into its Rhapsody digital music service later this year. The company claims a combined total of 550,000 paying members for its Rhapsody and RadioPass music services.
tags: RealNetworks | Sells | Three-Week Promotion |