Desktop publishing specialist Adobe Systems announced Monday that it has agreed to buy multimedia software maker Macromedia in a stock deal valued at $3.4 billion. The companies said that the deal would help create a more powerful source of tools for building and distributing multimedia content across a range of operating systems and devices. They repeatedly stressed their belief that the merger would allow them to expand more rapidly into the market for audio and video applications for use in handhelds and other gadgets. In a conference call, Bruce Chizen, Adobe's chief executive officer, said that the buyout creates a more powerful company capable of delivering innovative technology into a number of emerging markets.

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