Broderbund is a name associated with the very popular genealogy
program, Family Tree Maker. The company has gone through a long list of owners
and has once again been sold. The new owner is an Irish company.
Here is the announcement from the new owners:
Riverdeep Acquires Leading Consumer Software Company [and]
Announces $50 Million Debt Facility
Dublin, Ireland/ Cambridge, MA, August 26, 2002 Riverdeep
Group plc (NASDAQ: RVDP), a leading publisher of educational software sold
into schools and homes, today announced the acquisition of Broderbund LLC
and its related entities ( Broderbund ) by its wholly owned subsidiary,
Riverdeep, Inc. Broderbund is a leading publisher of innovative, personal
productivity software sold into the consumer and school markets.
Under the terms of the agreement, Riverdeep has agreed to
pay the seller, Gores Technology Group, consideration of $57.2 million in
exchange for the acquired assets and liabilities of Broderbund. Key assets
purchased include the Broderbund name, and its industry leading software
brands such as Print Shop, Print Master, Family Tree Maker, American Greetings,
3D Home Architect, Calendar Creator, and Cosmopolitan as well as other well
known licensed brands.
The acquisition will be funded through a combination of cash
on-hand and a new $50 million Senior Debt line with Foothill Capital Corporation,
a subsidiary of Wells Fargo.
"We are pleased to bring these well established brands
into the Riverdeep channels of distribution. We view these brands as a tremendous
fit within both our school and consumer businesses," said Barry O'
Callaghan, Riverdeep's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "We are
purchasing a great company and we expect the acquisition to be accretive
to earnings and cash-flows.
About Riverdeep Group plc
Riverdeep provides highly motivating, dynamic, curriculum-based
Internet and CD-ROM learning experiences for the K 12 market. Riverdeep’s
products feature interactive problem-solving approaches and real-world applications
that contribute to the depth of conceptual understanding. The Company also
offers extensive online tools; support and professional development offerings
via riverdeep.net, helping educators integrate technology with curriculum
to assess and improve student performance. Riverdeep s science, math, and
language arts learning activities are correlated to national and state curriculum
standards. These award-winning products, including Riverdeep's Destination
Math, Destination Reading, Science Explorer, Science Gateways, and Tangible
MATH, are accessible via riverdeep.net and are available on CD-ROM for all
major operating platforms. Riverdeep's product offerings also include EdVantage's
language arts courses, Edmark's early learning software, and The Learning
Company's offerings, which include Reader Rabbit, Carmen Sandiego, ClueFinders,
and Oregon Trail.
Riverdeep Group plc was founded in 1995 and is headquartered
in Dublin, Ireland, with U.S. headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
For more information, write to Riverdeep, Inc., 125 CambridgePark Drive,
Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02140; call toll free to 800-564-2587; visit www.riverdeep.net;
or send a note to info@riverdeep.net.
About Gores Technology Group
With headquarters in Los Angeles, Gores Technology Group (GTG)
is a privately held international acquisition and management firm that pursues
an aggressive strategy of acquiring promising high-technology organizations
and managing them for growth and profitability. GTG has made a name for
itself by acquiring and successfully managing companies -- including many
divisions acquired from large publicly traded companies -- through its commitment
to customers, employees and continued development of intellectual property.
GTG has acquired and managed approximately 40 interrelated but autonomous
technology-oriented companies with locations throughout the world. Those
companies provide a broad range of technology-based products and services
to a substantial customer base representing millions of active users worldwide.
Visit the company's Web site at www.gores.com.
About Broderbund LLC
Broderbund LLC is a leading, worldwide publisher of productivity
and rich media software with more than 40 million users worldwide. Many
of its brands, including The Print Shop®, PrintMaster® and Family Tree Maker®
are category leaders.
Broderbund is a privately held corporation with headquarters
in Novato, California, and additional offices in Hiawatha, Iowa.
I noticed the announcement says, "Key assets purchased include
the Broderbund name, and its industry leading software brands such as Print
Shop, Print Master, Family Tree Maker…." Actually, I am told that the new
owner has purchased the rights to sell Family Tree Maker in retail stores but
has not purchased the rights to the program itself. (The same was true of Gores
Technology Group, the previous owners.) The program is still produced by Genealogy.com,
a subsidiary of A&E Television Networks.
Broderbund produced Family Tree Maker for several years. Late
in 1999, Broderbund’s owners at that time, Mattel, decided to spin off the genealogy
software division to create an independent company called Genealogy.com which,
in turn, was later acquired by A&E Television Networks early in 2001 (see
my article
for details). As part of the Mattel spin-off, Genealogy.com does all software
development and also sells the software via the Web and by mail order. Broderbund
retained exclusive rights to sell Family Tree Maker in retail stores, such as
at Costco, CompUSA, etc.
The relationship apparently does not change with the new owners:
Genealogy.com will continue to develop the software and sell it via direct sales
channels while Riverdeep will sell it into retail outlets.
Dick Eastman Online
