maccentral.com
Special Report: Metrowerks/Motorola conference call
by Ben Wilson, bwilson@maccentral.com
August 19, 1999, 12:45 pm ET
Earlier today, we reported on Motorola's Semiconductor Group's proposed acquisition of Metrowerks. The two companies - one a maker of various processors, and the other a producer of development tools - are hooking up primarily to focus on the embedded market in a big way.
New details on the arrangement have come to light through a conference call held with Metrowerks CEO Jean Belanger, and Billy Edwards, Corporate VP and director of strategic management/planning at Motorola SPS. MacCentral was in attendance on the call, and we have the following to report.
Metrowerks and Motorola have been part of a symbiotic relationship long before today's acquisition announcement. In fact, one of the reasons Metrowerks relocated to Austin, Texas was to be closer to Motorola. "It was also a very highly concentrated Macintosh center. We wanted to have a close relationship with Motorola but we never knew it would lead to this," said Belanger.
The acquisition's effect on the desktop PowerPC market is of prime concern to Mac users. The two companies' decision to focus on the embedded market has left some worried that Apple's PowerPC market will be somewhat neglected. However, Belanger assures us that the PowerPC market is very important to Motorola and they won't be abandoning it anytime soon. "We cover just about the entire range of Motorola processors. We have over 80 percent market share in the PowerPC market, and we also have a strong footing in the 68K market," he said.
One of the biggest reasons for the acquisition, according to Belanger, is that customers are becoming much more sophisticated and requiring more complex solutions in a shorter amount of time. He says that Motorola will provide welcome aid in at arena. Belanger stated "Our current head count is about 240. We've been told that whatever resources we need will become available (from Motorola.)"
That added boost in resources will also help Metrowerks to compete with other tool developers, including Microsoft and ironically, Apple. "In the Macintosh space, Adobe has been using our tools for years, but not every developer does. Some use tools from Apple."
Motorola will be retaining very close ties to Apple, however, and the company will keep its Cupertino branch (located within a few miles from Apple's headquarters) open.
Billy Edwards provided word that although Motorola and Metrowerks will be meshed together after the proposed acquisition, the latter company will retain some independence. "Motorola will be a stand-alone subsidiary. One of the models we're following is an open structure (currently employed by Metrowerks) where different pieces and components can be worked together from different vendors. We absolutely want that to continue," said Edwards.
In terms of the embedded market, Metrowerks is going full-steam ahead. "Motorola is the biggest player in the embedded space, they don't have to buy my attention."
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Hmmm... can we classify the MSU ISP chips as "embedded systems"? Very interesting if this leads to a strategic relationship with MOT... |
