inMusic, the owner of Alesis and other music technology brands including Akai Professional, Alto Professional, Denon, M-Audio and Marantz Professional, has acquired BFD from London-based tech company, FXpansion.

FXpansion, which changed hands in 2016 when it was acquired by ROLI, is best-known for its BFD drum software instrument.

BFD and its entire engineering department will now become part of inMusic’s R&D family, bringing their specialised knowledge and expertise, which will be supported by the resources and IP of the entire inMusic group.

“We recognise that today is a very difficult time for so many and we’re looking forward to a quick recovery for all,” says inMusic CEO Jack O’Donnell. “Our optimism for the future knows no bounds and we’re very excited to welcome the entire BFD team as part of our family of companies.”

Roland Lamb, founder and CEO of ROLI, believes inMusic “will bring unique value to the BFD community through its extraordinary expertise in both drum software and hardware development”.

The big question for e-drummers is when BFD’s library will be integrated into Alesis drum modules, but the company is remaining tight-lipped. All we could get from a spokesman was: “We cannot comment on specific future integrations; however, the BFD IP will service the general IP of all inMusic's brands moving forwards.”

There is an indirect link between FXpansion and Alesis: John Emrich, director of drum development for Alesis, has long been associated with BFD and personally recorded samples for the UK-based VST developer.