Aureal Buyout Approved

Creative Technology has announced that its purchase of beleaguered audio hardware maker Aureal Semiconductor has been approved. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California, Oakland Division, entered the final order approving the sale of substantially all Aureal's assets to Creative, including patents, trademarks, and other intellectual property. The sale also includes settlement of all outstanding litigation claims between the two companies. Creative will pay $28 million in cash, plus two new shares of Creative stock for every 100 outstanding shares of Aureal stock, which amounts to 208,079 shares of Creative, valued at approximately $4.35 million based on the fair market value of Creative stock on September 21.