From: udah091@bay.cc.kcl.ac.uk Subject: ESCOM announces C= purchase Date: 25 Apr 95 16:12:37 GMT Translation from German of message received by dealers via Reuters: ESCOM continues well-known brand names "Commodore" and "Amiga". Amiga video/multimedia technology bought by auction. Bochum/Heppenheim. ESCOM AG has obtained the rights of the Commodore group in the course of an auction in New York. The transaction includes all rights to intellectual property, technology, trade marks, and patents of Commodore and Amiga. The technology of the Commodore group, which went into liquidation due to mismanagement, is considered in expert circles as the key technology for the future multimedia market. Through this take-over, Escom can become the leading provider of multimedia technology for private users. The company intends to continue the well-known and successful product lines under the trade marks of Commodore and Amiga. The Commodore PCs are to be distributed world wide through distributors and mass-markets. Escom plans to manufacture the legendary Commodore C64 again for the target markets in Eastern Europe. Production and distribution of the Amiga 4000, 1200, and 600 will be continued. Parallel to this Escom is working on the integration of Amiga and traditional PC technology. For end users Escom plans to offer PC boards in the near future which copy the multimedia functions of the Amiga machines in the areas of audio and video on traditional personal computers. With special Amiga TV settop boxes the company pursues the goal to also set a milestone for the future market of interactive television henceforth. With Tianjin Family-Used Multimedia Co.Ltd., Tijanjing/PR China, a licensing agreement was reached for marketing and production of Amiga based computers. This company advanced to be the leading manufacturer of 16 bit game machines with 1 million units sold in 1994 and has one of the largest distribution organizations in the People's Republic at its disposal. Tijanjin Family-Used Multimedia Co.Ltd.'s market share there is 80 per cent. Through this Chinese partner Escom has made accessible for itself one of the most important growth markets for Commodore products. Currently negotiations with the leading far east and US distributors are underway for further licensing agreements in order to open up the Commodore/Amiga technology for the world market.