Smith Micro Software Inc. announced Tuesday that it has acquires Allume Systems Inc. from International Microcomputer Software Systems Inc. (IMSI). Allume is the software developer behind StuffIt, Spring Cleaning and other utility software for Mac OS X and Windows. Smith Micro will pay US$11 million in cash and $1.75 million in shares to purchase Allume.
Allume Systems Inc. was itself acquired by IMSI in early 2004. The company — originally known as Aladdin Systems Inc. — changed its name to Allume Systems Inc. to settle a legal dispute with a similarly-named maker of digital security software.
Smith Micro is a developer of wireless communication, Internet and e-business software. Their Macintosh product line includes FAXstf X fax management software and QuickLink Mobile wireless connectivity software.
Allume recently announced the development of a JPEG compression technique that yields a 30 percent reduction in the size of images without any penalty on image quality, and the company expects to be able to apply a similar technique to MPEG video and MP3 audio files.
It’s this new compression technology that interested Smith Micro, the company said in a statement — Smith Micro hopes to interest wireless service carriers and handset makers in licensing the technology for their own products and services.