Following its manufacturing and marketing pacts with Norsk Data for 32-bit superminis and Sun Microsystems for Unix workstations, Matra Datasysteme has signed a similar agreement with Encore Computer Corp, Marlborough, Massachusetts for the Multimax line of NS32000-based parallel Unix multiprocessors. Under the agreement, valued by Encore at $30m over five years, Matra will initially take Multimaxes OEM – ships have already begun – engage in joint product development, and move on to French manufacture. Matra also gets exclusive to Encore machines and technology in France, Belgium, southern Europe, parts of Switzerland, the Middle East and French-speaking North Africa. Joint development will include data communications, concurrent processing, and parallelising software and applications. Matra also gets warrants for 600,000 Encore shares, exercisable over the next 30 months. Encore has similar pacts with Rikei in Japan, and WBM in South Korea.
