Anoto Group AB today announced an agreement to acquire Livescribe Inc. Livescribe will be fully integrated with Anoto as a wholly-owned subsidiary, with the deal expected to close later this month.
Anoto is a global leader in digital writing and drawing solutions. Its technology platform and branded products enable high-precision pen or stylus input on nearly any surface — from capturing and digitizing handwritten notes and business forms on paper to designing, creating and collaborating directly on large interactive displays, whiteboards, and walls up to 24 feet. Livescribe is the leading maker of smartpens, which bring notes, words, and ideas to life by connecting pen and paper to the digital world.
This acquisition provides clear benefits to both parties. It will enable Anoto to broaden its product portfolio, extend its business into the consumer market and retail distribution, and add a best-in-class digital note-taking solution to its other key solution areas, including creative solutions, collaborative solutions, and document processing and management. It will help Livescribe innovate faster, address new market opportunities beyond note-taking and the consumer segment, and continue to design, develop, and distribute next generation smartpen products.
“Acquiring Livescribe is another important step in consolidating the Anoto ecosystem and realizing synergies in hardware and software development, supply chain and operations, and sales distribution,” said Stein Revelsby, CEO of Anoto. “We are already working on a new range of products to be launched in Livescribe’s sales channels in 2016.”
Based in Oakland, California and founded in 2007, Livescribe’s smartpens allow students, business people, journalists, and anyone who values pen and paper note-taking to capture, access, and share everything they write, draw, and hear. With products geared toward both desktop and mobile users, Livescribe brings smartpen technology to business, consumers, and creatives wherever and however they work.
“By joining forces with Anoto, we see huge potential for smartpen technology to expand beyond the consumer market and beyond writing and drawing on paper,” said Gilles Bouchard, CEO of Livescribe. “We’ve had a successful licensing partnership with Anoto since Livescribe was founded and I am confident that becoming part of Anoto Group will strengthen Livescribe’s position in the consumer market and allow us to pursue many exciting new opportunities in the years to come.”
As part of this agreement, Anoto is acquiring Livescribe’s entire business operations, technology, and intellectual property. The Livescribe brand and existing infrastructure will be retained, with a goal of strengthening the position of both companies through the development and sale of new products.
For more information, please visit www.anoto.com and www.livescribe.com.
