THERE'S SOMETHING AFOOT
AT SONICBLUE

The PR department is earning its keep at SONICblue, as the Rio-brand music component retailer announces acquisitions, fourth quarter earnings and streamlining its operations. Of course, right after this release came out, they were downsized to a fax machine and a water cooler.

The company has agreed to buy video recorder manufacturer ReplayTV for $123 million in stock. ReplayTV lets viewers pause, record and rewind live programs. SONICblue plans to issue 16 million common shares, options and warrants in the acquisition.

SONICblue has also taken action to further establish itself in multimedia by shuttering its graphics division and leaving 400 employees jobless.

Said Chairman/CEO Ken Potashner: "We have successfully completed the final stages of our exit from the graphics chip and board businesses and have positioned SONICblue to be recognized as a leader in the rapidly growing digital media market. We have taken aggressive action this quarter to restructure our costs given the realignment of our business. And we're more than ready to kick TiVo's butt, so please stop asking me what the name means."

Meanwhile, SONICblue revealed its fourth-quarter net revenues of $99.2 million, down $81.3 million from the same period the previous year. However, the 2000 fiscal earnings were $536.7 million, up $184.1 million from fiscal 1999.

Losses were attributed to SONICblue's business relationship with Rioport and its 1999 purchase of Diamond Multimedia.