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The document-design software company Adobe Systems Inc. said today that it had agreed to acquire the multimedia software firm Macromedia Inc. for about $3.4 billion in stock.

Adobe, which is based in San Jose, Calif., and is best known for its Acrobat document sharing software, said the deal is expected to close this fall.

"Customers are calling for integrated software solutions that enable them to create, manage and deliver a wide range of compelling content and applications - from documents and images to audio and video," Bruce Chizen, chief executive of Adobe, said in a statement.

"By combining our powerful development, authoring and collaboration software - along with the complementary functionality of PDF and Flash - Adobe has the opportunity to bring this vision to life with an industry-defining technology platform."