Pioneer DJ‘s parent company AlphaTheta Corporation has confirmed the acquisition of all Serato Audio Research Limited shares.

Serato and Pioneer remain longstanding partners in music technology ever since the release of 2012’s DDJ-SX controller. Other future controllers from Pioneer DJ were made compatible with Serato’s DJ Pro software as well as Pioneer’s rekordbox software.

AlphaTheta CEO Yoshinori Kataoka spoke on the acquisition in a recent press release:

“…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.”

Additionally, Serato CEO Young Ly also praised the decision:

“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.”

The group’s press release also mentions that both companies “will continue to operate as standalone brands.”

AlphaTheta Corporation

AlphaTheta began as a division of Pioneer DJ in 1994 with the introduction of the CDJ-500 music player. Pioneer DJ became AlphaTheta Corporation in 2020 and was sold by equity firm KKR to Noritsu for $606 million in March of that year.

Serato

Serato launched in New Zealand in 1999 by co-founders AJ Bertenshaw and Steve West. Their innovative control vinyl technology and software is an industry standard.

In 2018, Serato’s flagship products, Serato DJ and Serato DJ Intro, became Serato DJ Pro and Serato DJ Lite, respectively. Both programs offer laptop-only mixing, access to a limitless music library and a crisp, high-resolution interface.

Find more information on AlphaTheta and Serato’s acquisition on AlphaTheta’s website.