Magix has been insolvent under self-administration for almost a year and, as was to be expected, the workforce has been significantly reduced during this time. A new investor is now on board to help the software manufacturer get off the ground with a management team. The new CEO Robert Rutkowski assures us in an interview that there is still enough development capacity to be able to lead the Berlin company to growing sales again. We wanted to know from him and the new head of marketing and sales which products might soon no longer be available, what the focus is and how Magix plans to assert itself against the competition. We offer the interview as a video and in the accompanying article you will also find our evaluation of the situation and our forecasts:

• Magix Interview: Investor defines future product strategy :

Magix registered bankruptcy in his own administration in early 2024 and was looking for investors. RM Equity is now established as an investor and owner on board and the insolvent (almost). We wanted to know which strategy you are now persecuted by the new CEO Robert Rutkowski used by the investor.

In the future, Russmedia AG will be available behind Magix with headquarters in Schwarzach/Austria. Russmedia is a media house on the daily and weekly newspapers (UA 'Vorarlberger Nachrichten'), several magazines and a print shop. You have a radio station and is active with around 40 online portals and apps-whereby you are primarily involved in the 2017 RM Equity Partners (RMEP) based in Ruggel, Lichtenstein. As is common with such finance companies, RMEP works a comparatively small team of analysts, controllers and account managers. In management, among other things, Eugen B. is Russ of the family -run mother house. However, over 600 people are employed in the societies distributed and actively managed across Europe.

We wanted to know how Magix wants to convince customers in the future and what the long -term plan will look like by Robert Rutkowski, the new CEO of Magix GmbH appointed by the investor.

At Magix, the new CEO Robert Rutkowski used by RMEP is called and was previously employed by Erento and Campanda as Managing Director. Both online platforms for the rental business are also investments by the RMEP. In our interview, Robert Rutkowski officially confirms that we are officially registered there as managing director, but emphasizes that he wants to concentrate on the day -to -day business at Magix. That should hardly be feasible at the moment, if you want to get the manufacturer brisk again. After all, this investor makes it significantly different from the last that Magix has buried high financing costs, but as we noticed from corporate circles at the time, it has had little influence on the strategic product decisions.

As the new owner, the financial investor RM Equity Partners, which belongs to the Austrian media group, is now behind Magix. So far, he has invested in online marketplaces, apps and software-as-a-service and is therefore primarily involved in service providers and not with manufacturers.

The way out of bankruptcy

Originally, Magix had assumed a maximum of half a year with a time frame of the "bankruptcy in self -administration". It is almost always set that you make a restructuring in this phase - after all, as a bride, you want to make yourself particularly pretty and show numbers that make an investment seem attractive. But obviously the bankruptcy took longer, which was probably due to the process of searching for investors, but ultimately also on the slowly grinding authorities.

In the exclusive interview, the new CEO Robert Rutkowski and the CMO Tom Sperner, responsible for marketing and sales, answered our questions.

The investor has sent his people to Magix since September 2024, so that they know the processes of development, marketing and sales and have developed their own strategy. Obviously there were a few layoffs at the end of December - at least different contact persons were no longer available from one day to the other. In the interview, Rutkowski now calls an employee strength of 125 people, emphasizing that people have been released in extended management. The CPOs (chief product developer) and his core developer team, on the other hand, should still be there. Rutkowski is certain that the further development of the programs, which has been planned for a long time and long-term, is secured.

• What is changing at Magix? :

THE MAGIX PRODUCT PORTFOLIO

The strategy during the bankruptcy was clear: none of the products were abandoned. Only the variety of versions of the products was reduced somewhat - although in reality this was only partially implemented. But Magix has sometimes drastically reduced prices. CEO Robert Rutkowski is nevertheless satisfied with the proceeds during the bankruptcy period and sees Magix on track, ultimately of course also due to the reduced number of employees. Selling individual product segments is particularly popular with investors - but according to Rutkowski, this is not currently happening at Magix. Accordingly, there are currently no plans to change strategy. All products will therefore continue to be further developed. In the video segment, the greatest potential is still seen in Vegas Video, for which Magix primarily develops and then specifically wants to integrate these functions into Magix Video deluxe. This is nothing new either, but has been practiced for over three to four years.

Magix wants to continue to offer the audio and video segment portfolio for home users and professionals. They are obviously currently advertising high discounts and want to keep sales stable. Not an easy undertaking, because then you have to find new customers.

WHAT IS DIFFERENT AT MAGIX?

First and foremost, they "tidy up" during the bankruptcy and separated from a large part of the employees. It is currently difficult to judge what effects this actually has, even if Rutkowski emphasizes that such processes as an investor have often accompanied and has corresponding tools that make internal communication more efficient. The development department should also become more effective through better structures - although Magix is ​​the first manufacturer with a real product for the RMEP team. Of course, online platforms also have a development-but that is something different from having to bring a release of software to the market at time X. It is difficult to predict whether the management tools work here. On the other hand, it is certain that the layoffs inevitably have part of the know-how. Rutkowski is sure that you have been able to hand over a good handover everywhere - whether this is true and sufficient, the managers inevitably only realize in the next few months.

The management team at Magix has previously worked at Erento, an online rental platform. The management tools tested there should now also help with Magix.

At the same time, Magix wants to reposition its marketing and become more modern. The new CMO (Chief Marketing Officer), or head of sales and marketing in plain English, is Tom Sperner, who describes himself on his website as an SEO marketing specialist and also comes from Erento. It is not difficult to predict that Magix will focus relatively specifically on direct marketing and social media. It might be difficult to find the right arguments, because traditionally direct sales via social media work best with high discounts. But Magix has just reduced prices, which is comparatively easy. Now (on paper) making them more expensive again to create room for discounts is a rather difficult path. But here too, investors seem to be relaxed at the moment and are relying on tools that have obviously been used successfully in previous investments. However, it must be noted that RM Equity Partners has so far been more involved in the media sector and has formed online platforms. Can the strategy and adjustment screws from a service provider like Erento be transferred to Magix? This is also difficult to assess and in our interview the Magix management remains very vague in its statements about how and with which tools they really want to get Magix fit again.

• Goals of the investor and video activity conclusion :

Goals of the investor

The basis of RM Equity Partners is Russmedia AG and therefore a media group, which includes newspapers, magazines and books also online platforms. This could make an extended target group comparatively cheaply within the group of companies. But this is probably not realistic - on the one hand, the question arises whether you find the right users through such synergies and on the other hand, an investor has an eye on the finances of every investment. Discounted advertising charges are rarely targeted. At first glance, it seems courageous to get in a software company as a media group. But in the interview, Rutkowski emphasizes that you not only want to continue to supply the existing users, but also see growth potential. Rutkowski is relatively open that the semi -professional and professional programs are in focus here. When asked what happens if the current strategy does not work and whether you are ready to help Magix again with new money, Rutkowski emphasizes that you want to be involved in Magix in the long term and at least not exclude another financial commitment .

A comparatively small team works at the investor RM Equity Partners, which ultimately only manages the invests - not the companies themselves in which you are involved. The management is used directly, so that you need financial specialists, analysts and controllers from the investor.

• CONCLUSION :

With RMEP, the next financial investor has taken over the helm at Magix, but unlike the previous one, he takes responsibility for his own management. These are better conditions than the last investor, even if from the customer's perspective they would have preferred a strategic investor with industry knowledge.

It was clear, even from the outside, that Magix had too many staff on board and that they had stuck to old sales and difficult decision-making channels for too long. In this respect, it was clear that the number of employees would be massively reduced. Here they took advantage of the relaxed conditions within an insolvency situation - it's not nice, but it's certainly necessary. But since the bankruptcy has ended (officially soon), we assume that the remaining team will now continue and will not be reduced any further. We cannot judge whether the right people were hired and the important developers were retained. What is certain, however, is that people who have been in charge for many years have been removed, although it must be noted critically that important expertise is also being lost. Even if this is not currently stated, Magix will have to reduce the variety of products in the long term in order to still have enough clout with the box office hits with the greatly reduced workforce. This is in contrast to the current continuity in the product portfolio - but ideally it could mean a concentration on the old strengths.

It is also exciting to see whether the RMEP management can use its methods to get a troubled software manufacturer back on track. This will become apparent comparatively quickly, because if products are not running stably and customers are missing, the air will quickly become thin. We now predict that this path will be a little rockier, as investors currently see it.

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