Tulip Computers Sells Commodore Name

The Commodore name, beloved of the more aged among computer and gaming aficionados, has changed hands once again, upon Tulip Computers' sale of the subsidiary to Yeahromino Media Ventures. Tulip, a Netherlands-based company, signed a letter of agreement to sell subsidiary Commodore International BV to Beverly Hills-based Yeahromino for 24 million Euros, or 32.3 million USD. The deal will be finalized pending due diligence investigation on both sides, and the money will be paid over a number of years, with only around 4 million Euros going to Tulip for 2004, and payments stretching until around 2010. What Yeahromino plans to do with their purchase of the Commodore name and hardware rights is less clear - they may possibly be looking to capitalize on Commodore nostalgia, using products such as the recently mentioned C64 DTV 'TV game' that plays classic Commodore 64 games through TV sets, but obviously, much of the Commodore 64 software was developed by third-party companies, and will still need to be licensed. However, Tulip will remain a partner in the use of the Commodore name whatever Yeahromino does with it; as part of the deal, Tulip will provide sales and development assistance.