Details Emerge On Minnetonka Acquisition

Linear Acoustic welcomed the addition of Minnetonka Audio Software to its parent company, The Telos Alliance, Saturday morning during its press conference at IBC 2015 in Amsterdam.

The Telos Alliance completed its purchase of Minnetonka Audio, Sept. 9, the day before IBC 2015 opened. The deal had been in the works for a year, said John Schur, Minnetonka founder, president and CEO.

Schur will remain as president of the Minnetonka Audio division of The Telos Alliance, and the company will continue to be based in Minneapolis.

Much of Minnetonka Audio’s business has been related to development of OEM audio software used by many vendors serving the broadcast and audio post market. The company has also been a leader in moving audio production and engineering activities to the cloud.

Tim Carroll, president and founder of Linear Acoustic, said during the press conference that the two companies have been on parallel tracks for years and frequently discussed the possibility of partnering on product development.

The acquisition of Minnetonka Audio will make collaboration between Minnetonka and the various brands of The Telos Alliance, including Linear Acoustic, easier to do, Carroll said.

Minnetonka Audio has already begun integrating OEM software products of various Telos Alliance brands into its SurCode OEM line.

It also recently completed transitioning Linear Acoustic’s UpMAX stereo-to-surround-sound upmixer to the cloud, Schur said. Other Telos Alliance functions headed to the cloud in the near term include encoding and loudness management, he said.

Longer term plans have not been formalized, but Schur has been discussing creating several Avid plug-ins with existing Telos Alliance algorithms. Ultimately, those too are likely to end up in the cloud, he said.

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