APT Licensing Ltd. has been acquired.
The buyer is CSR PLC, which had been using APT-developed audio compression on its wireless audio platforms. The companies said APT Licensing’s 17 full-time staff will be retained.
“The acquisition enables a tighter integration of the apt-X low-latency audio compression codecs with CSR’s next-generation audio products,” the companies announced. The acquisition also will let CSR strengthen its offering in the real-time streaming audio market for mobile and wireless consumer applications, it said, as well as support its expansion into broader audio markets.
APT Licensing, based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, is supplier of the apt-X suite of audio compression algorithms. It split from its related broadcast hardware business, APT Codecs, in 2009 when the latter was sold to Audemat and became part of what is now called WorldCast Systems.
CSR, headquartered in England, is a provider of “multifunction connectivity and location platforms” like Bluetooth, GPS, FM, Wi-Fi, UWB, NFC and other technologies used in mobile consumer devices .
CSR CEO Joep van Beurden described APT as having “one of the industry’s strongest audio IP portfolios and a 20-year heritage in audio expertise.” The announcement was made with APT CEO Noel McKenna.
APT Licensing has been developing scalable codecs that can be adapted for “specific acoustic environments, battery life savings, latency and error resilience,” it says, part of the appeal for the buyer.
Related:
“Audemat Acquires APT Broadcast Codec Division” (March 2009)
