Adobe Systems has reached an agreement to acquire Macromedia for $3.4
billion in stock. Executives from Adobe said the combined company will
be in a position to offer consumers new applications that take
advantage of the current technologies of the two companies. Adobe is
best known for its Acrobat document software and for Photoshop, a
graphics application. Macromedia's products include Flash and
Dreamweaver, which are used by Web developers largely for animation and
other video effects and web development. The merger is expected to close this fall. Bruce
Chizen, chief executive of Adobe, hinted that some layoffs are likely
after the deal closes, but he stressed that the primary goal of the
merger is "to continue to expand and grow our business into new
markets."
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