Amino Development Corp., a startup headed by former Gateway (NYSE: GTW) marketing executive Bill McEwen, bought the rights for about $5 million, according to people close to the transaction.
McEwen left the PC maker in August, when the company chose not to pursue plans to develop a new Amiga. He didn't return phone calls but said in a statement that Amino of Maple Valley, Wash., expects to "finish the job" begun when the Amiga was introduced.
Amiga fans have clung to the multimedia machine, with its capacity for high-quality sound, graphics and video, despite the lack of new models and the trials of its various owners. About five million Amiga computers were built by Commodore Ltd., which filed for bankruptcy in 1994. Escom AG, a German PC maker, bought the company and shortly thereafter slipped into bankruptcy.
Gateway acquired Amiga from a German bankruptcy court in 1997 as part of a plan to build up its patent portfolio. Early last year, it announced plans to create a new Amiga.
Gateway Senior Vice President Peter Askin said the sale recognizes the Amiga operations "morphed into a software-development company," which is working on an Internet-appliance operating system.
Gateway said its Amiga subsidiary is being folded into its development operation to complete the Internet-development activities. Gateway said Amiga Inc. President Tom Schmidt and other employees are not part of the sale. The deal leaves Gateway with the 47 Amiga patents it acquired in 1997 for $13 million.
Gateway was up $1.9375 to $72.0625 a share at 1 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange trading Friday.
