Acquisition Complements Autodesk's Data Management Strategy, Strengthens Position in Product Lifecycle Management Market

SAN RAFAEL, Calif., Feb 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Autodesk, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADSK) today announced an agreement to acquire all assets of COMPASS systems GmbH, a European-based developer of the COMPASS family of data management solutions, for 13 million Euros. COMPASS is a leader in the European data management market, and COMPASS customers include more than 20,000 users in 1,800 manufacturing companies.

Autodesk plans to continue offering the COMPASS solution in key European markets and supporting COMPASS customers, while leveraging COMPASS systems' experience in its continuing development of Autodesk's data management solution, featuring Autodesk Productstream(TM).

Through the combination of Autodesk and COMPASS expertise, technology and partners, Autodesk will better enable customers to accelerate information exchange and more efficiently create, manage and share design data. Customers will benefit from a comprehensive data management solution that makes the production and delivery of products more timely and cost efficient.

The acquisition, which is expected to close in March of 2005, will allow Autodesk to more quickly expand its data management solution, and deliver on its commitment to provide a comprehensive data management solution for small- and medium-size manufacturers.

"This is a clear indicator of our commitment to be a major player in the Product Lifecycle Management market," said Robert Kross, vice president of Autodesk's Manufacturing Solutions Division. "By combining our collective experience in the data management market with our strength in product design, we are extremely well positioned to extend the value of design information across the manufacturing organization and supply chain."

Karl Weber, president of COMPASS systems, added "We are very pleased to join forces with a market leader like Autodesk. Our focus on engineering- driven data management and the clear synergies between our channels and products make this acquisition logical for our companies as well as beneficial to our customers."

Data Management: A Practical Approach

The Autodesk data management solution is built to extend the value driven by Autodesk's design software, including Autodesk Inventor(R) Series, the world's best-selling 3D design software. Autodesk's data management solution allows customers to speed design cycles and maintain control of crucial design data as it moves through the product lifecycle. Unlike traditional Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) installations that demand extensive, costly customization and process re-engineering, the Autodesk data management solution allows manufacturers to quickly and cost effectively reap many of the same benefits of PLM. With Autodesk, manufacturers have the flexibility to add components incrementally, at a pace that matches their needs and budget. The Autodesk data management solution includes Autodesk Vault, Autodesk Productstream, Autodesk Streamline(R), and the Autodesk DWF(TM) file format.

Autodesk's Comprehensive Portfolio of Manufacturing Solutions

Delivering on its strategy to help customers create, manage, and share their digital design data, Autodesk offers the most comprehensive portfolio of integrated 2D and 3D design and data management solutions available -- helping customers design better quality products, accelerate time to market, and achieve maximum project visibility and collaboration. Unlike other offerings on the market today, these solutions are easy to deploy and use, and help companies easily transition from 2D to 3D design at their own pace, helping to make Autodesk a leader in manufacturing segments such as industrial machinery, building and plant equipment, transportation and consumer products. Autodesk's manufacturing solutions include Autodesk Inventor Series, Autodesk Inventor(R) Professional, AutoCAD(R) Mechanical, AutoCAD(R) Electrical software, and the Autodesk(R) DWF(TM) file format functionality. All manufacturing design applications come with Autodesk Vault data management capabilities built in and work seamlessly with the Autodesk Streamline(R) collaboration service. In addition, customers can take advantage of widely available third-party applications purpose-built for Autodesk software.

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc. is wholly focused on ensuring that great ideas are turned into reality. With 6 million users, Autodesk is the world's leading software and services company for the building, manufacturing, infrastructure, digital media, and wireless data services fields. Autodesk's solutions help customers create, manage and share their data and digital assets more effectively. As a result, customers turn ideas into competitive advantage by becoming more productive, streamlining project efficiency, and maximizing profits.

Founded in 1982, Autodesk is headquartered in San Rafael, California. For additional information about Autodesk, please visit www.autodesk.com.

NOTE: Autodesk, AutoCAD, Autodesk Inventor, Autodesk Streamline, DWF, and Productstream are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.

During the course of this communication, we may make forward-looking statements regarding future events and the future performance of the Company. These forward-looking statements are subject to assumptions, risks and uncertainties, which are discussed in documents we file from time to time with the SEC and specifically in our Annual Report and 10-K filed for the year ended January 31, 2004. These documents contain and identify important factors that may cause the actual results to differ from those contained in our forward-looking statements.

Additionally, we may make statements regarding planned or future development efforts for our existing or new products and services. These statements are not intended to be a promise or guarantee of future delivery of products, services or features but merely reflect our current plans, which may change. Purchasing decisions should not be made based upon reliance on these statements.

The Company assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist or change after the date on which they were made.

SOURCE Autodesk, Inc.
02/18/2005
CONTACT: Sarah Singleton of Fleishman Hillard, singlets@fleishman.com, or +1-415-318-4160, for Autodesk, Inc.
Web site: http://www.autodesk.com