Autodesk Acquires Qontext Social Collaboration Platform

Acquisition to Expand Social Capabilities of Autodesk Cloud Services

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Autodesk Inc., (NASDAQ: ADSK) has completed the acquisition of Qontext, enterprise social collaboration software, from India-based Pramati Technologies. The acquisition of the Qontext technology and development team will accelerate Autodesk’s ongoing move to the cloud and expansion of social capabilities in the Autodesk 360 cloud-based service. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“Autodesk’s acquisition of the Qontext technology is a testament to the Pramati strategy,” said Vijay Pullur, Pramati president. “This transaction is a significant milestone in our ongoing efforts to incubate and build companies that address the rapidly changing needs of business through highly innovative technologies.”

Autodesk intends to use the Qontext technology to add new social capabilities to Autodesk 360, a cloud-based platform that offers users the ability to store, search, and view critical design data improving the way they design, visualize, simulate and share work with others at anytime and from anywhere.

“Mobile, cloud and social computing are dramatically changing the way engineers, designers and architects work. The addition of the Qontext technology to the Autodesk portfolio will lead to new technology innovations that help our customers embrace these disruptive technologies and leverage them for competitive advantage,” said Amar Hanspal, Autodesk senior vice president of information modeling and platform products. “It was great to work with the team at Pramati who have demonstrated a great capability in incubating disruptive businesses."

Business Outlook

This transaction is expected to have no impact on guidance issued on August 23, 2012.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding: the impact of the acquisition on Autodesk's product and services offerings, the impact of the acquired technology on Autodesk's products and services capabilities, the impact of the acquisition on end-user functionality and workflow integration, and the acceleration of Autodesk’s move to the cloud. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include the following: difficulties encountered in integrating the Qontext Technology; costs related to the acquisition; whether certain market segments grow as anticipated; the competitive environment in the software industry and competitive responses to the acquisition; our success developing new products or modifying existing products and the degree to which these gain market acceptance; general market and business conditions; the timing and degree of expected investments in growth opportunities; pricing pressure; failure to achieve continued cost reductions and productivity increases; changes in the timing of product releases and retirements; failure of key new applications to achieve anticipated levels of customer acceptance; failure to achieve continued success in technology advancements; interruptions or terminations in the business of our consultants or third party developers; the expense and impact of legal or regulatory proceedings; and unanticipated impact of accounting for acquisitions.

Further information on potential factors that could affect the financial results of Autodesk are included in the company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 31, 2012, and Form 10-Q for the quarter ended July 31, 2012, which are on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Autodesk does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements provided to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made.

About Pramati

Pramati builds independent companies focused on profitable, well-defined markets in social, mobile, and cloud computing technologies. Among its companies are SocialTwist, a customer acquisition and retention platform, and Imaginea, a software product and services company. Pramati companies serve large customers like Morgan Stanley, ICICI Bank, Visa, Kimberly-Clark, Sara-Lee, Liquidation.com, and others. For more information on Pramati, visit http://www.pramati.com.

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc., is a leader in professional and personal 3D design, engineering and entertainment software. Autodesk tools help unlock the creativity in everyone, from children and hobbyists to design and engineering professionals. Customers across the manufacturing, architecture, building, construction, digital art and entertainment industries, including the last 17 Academy Award winners for Best Visual Effects, use Autodesk software, mobile apps, cloud services and communities to design, visualize, simulate and communicate their ideas. For more information follow @autodesk or visit autodesk.com.

Autodesk is a registered trademark or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. Academy Award is a registered trademark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product and services offerings, and specifications and pricing at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.

© 2012 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.

Media Contact:
Noah Cole, 503-707-3872 (for Autodesk)
[e-mail]
or
Media Contact:
Jay Kolbe, 646-499-1059 (for Pramati)
[e-mail]
or
Investor Contact:
David Gennarelli, 415-507-6033
[e-mail]

Source: Autodesk, Inc.