Autodesk Acquires Alias

Autodesk has acquired Alias, the company that produces the industry-standard 3D animation program Maya, for $182 million in cash. Having used Maya for several years, I wonder what this will do for the program. Autodesk's 3DS Max program was a direct competitor to Maya. I wonder if there will be a merging of the two programs or if they will remain separate. (Source: Alias, Autodesk, WinCustomize)