History (1999): Adaptec Acquired German CD-R Manufacturer CeQuadrat

Adaptec is in the midst of amassing a near WW monopoly on writable CD software.

Indeed, the company just acquired one of the better specialists in the technology, the Aachen, Germany-based CeQuadrat, for $25 million in cash.

The controller manufacturer first entered this sector in 1995, with the acquisition of Incat, followed by Toast Technology in 1997.

Among the other industry players in this market is Prassi Software, which boasts some former Incat employees, and which was sued by Adaptec in 1998 for similarity of products.

Privately-held CeQuadrat is known for its excellent CD-R software, which have enjoyed particular success in Europe. It is also a customer of Mitsumi, Philips, Plextor, Ricoh, Sony, Teac and Yamaha.

“We expect Aachen to become Adaptec’s future European HQs for the company’s software products group,” said Tom Shea, VP and GM of the firm’s software products group.

CeQuadrat was co-founded by its current president Holger Kittel in 1991, and also has an office in Palo Alto, CA.

This article is an abstract of news published on issue 139 on August 1999 from the former paper version of Computer Data Storage Newsletter.