AlphaTheta Corporation, the company that oversees brands including Pioneer DJ and rekordbox, has announced its acquisition of Serato Audio Research Limited. 

Announced today (11th July), both companies have confirmed the acquisition of all Serato shares by AlphaTheta. The move is currently pending approval from the New Zealand Overseas Investment Office and the finalisation of other customary conditions.

The companies have worked together previously. Serato’s popular DJ software was first made compatible with Pioneer hardware in 2012 with the release of the DDJ-SX controller. Numerous Pioneer controllers released in the decade since then have been compatible with Serato, alongside Pioneer’s own software, rekordbox.

Despite the acquisition, AlphaTheta and Serato will continue to operate as standalone brands. According to a press release announcing the news, this will include “the continuation of their longstanding partnerships with key players in the DJ hardware and software industry.”

Speaking about the acquisition, AlphaTheta CEO Yoshinori Kataoka said: “I am delighted to announce the acquisition of Serato. Through extensive discussions within our company and with Serato’s management team, we have been exploring new ways to contribute to the industry. Bringing Serato into the AlphaTheta Group will lead to new synergies and significant technological innovations, adding continued value to the community.”

Young Ly, CEO of Serato, said: “Serato has enjoyed a 25 year history of success that is driven by a single-minded focus on serving DJs, producers and artists. We are incredibly proud of both the strength of our business as well as the community that surrounds our brand. Today, we are excited to deepen our long-standing partnership with AlphaTheta, accelerating how we create value for our users and the industry.”

It’s the latest in a string of major acquisitions announced in the world of electronic music tech in recent months. In June, Moog Music announced that it had been acquired by music conglomerate inMusic, the Rhode Island-based company that owns a variety of brands in DJ and professional audio equipment including Akai, Denon, Numark, Alesis, M-Audio, Marantz, and others.

AlphaTheta Corporation began as a division of Pioneer Corporation in 1994. In 2020, Pioneer DJ Corporation changed its company name to AlphaTheta Corporation “to better reflect our values and vision”. In March that year, Pioneer DJ was sold by owners KKR equity firm to Japanese company Noritsu for $606 million. 

The news of AlphaTheta’s acquisition of Serato comes at a busy time for both companies. In January, Serato announced the arrival of its new DAW, Serato Studio 2.0. Last month, it was announced that Pioneer DJ’s CDJ-3000 can now stream music from Beatport using StreamingDirectPlay. 

Earlier this year, Pioneer DJ announced a new 4-channel mixer, the DJM-A9, as well as a new all-in-one DJ system, the OPUS-QUAD.