Accel-KKR, a technology-focused private equity investment firm, and Teachers’ Private Capital, the private investment arm of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, announced a few weeks ago that they have signed a definitive agreement to sell Alias, a developer of 3D graphics technology, to Autodesk, Inc.

Under the terms of the transaction, Accel-KKR, the majority shareholder in Alias, and its partner, Teachers’ Private Capital, will sell their equity stakes in the company in a $182 million cash transaction.
Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Alias was founded in 1983 as Alias Research. The company’s customers encompass many of the world’s premier entertainment and manufacturing companies, including Industrial Light & Magic, DreamWorks SKG, Nintendo, General Motors and BMW, among others. Alias’ product lines comprise sketching, animation, visual effects, design, modeling, rendering and reviewing solutions. MotionBuilder® is Alias’ 3D character animation product, FBX® is widely used in the exchange and use of 3D content, and Maya® is the company’s Academy Award-winning 3D application. Alias StudioTools is software for design tasks from 2D sketches to production models.

Doug Walker, President and CEO of Alias, said, “The success of Alias has in part been made possible by the investments made by Accel-KKR and Teachers’ Private Capital following their acquisition of Alias from Silicon Graphics. We could not have asked for two better partners.”
The transaction is anticipated to close within the next four to six months, and is subject to a number of closing conditions, including regulatory approval.