Strategy in TECH...
In a press release distributed Wednesday morning, Integrated Systems Events (part of Integrated Systems Europe) announced the conclusion of their annual ISE event, this year in Barcelona, Spain for the first time on June 1-2. It was a hybrid-style event, offering an online or virtual conference as well as an in-person event with exhibitors in the Fira de Barcelona exhibition center. The organizers heralded the event as helping “the industry getting back to business.”
Well after much coverage on the VOXX/Onkyo deal by Strata-gee, in which VOXX remained strangely silent, the company finally issued a press release today in which they acknowledged that they had signed an asset purchase agreement (APA) with Onkyo for $30.8 million. The deal remains subject to approval by Onkyo shareholders in a vote scheduled to take place on June 25, 2021.
This news was likely not a surprise to Strata-gee readers. But what was a surprise is that this purchase does NOT include the Pioneer and Pioneer Elite brands.
Bryston Ltd., a well-regarded manufacturer of high-end audio and home theater gear, announced on Wednesday that it has partnered with Azione Unlimited, a nationwide buying group of integrators. The move looks to expand their potential network of dealers here in the U.S.
SnapAV announced today (Tuesday) that its latest rendition of its automation brand Control4’s OS 3 operating software – OS 3.2.2 – finally introduces full support of the company’s popular OvrC remote management platform. No doubt part of their ongoing integration strategy since they first acquired Control4, this news is sure to make life just a little easier for their Control4 dealers who support OvrC.
Sony Group announced yesterday that it will invest no less than ¥2 trillion ($18 billion) over the next three years to turbo-charge the company’s transition from a consumer electronics powerhouse to a global leader in gaming, media, and services. The only hardware they are looking to equally dominate is the sensor business – and a potential entry into the general chip-making business (more on this later).
I recently told you that the Onkyo & VOXX/Sharp deal has been delayed from a firm May 20th date to sign a definitive agreement, to a more hazy “sometime” in late May, according to an announcement released by Onkyo to investors in Japan. At the same time the company put that announcement out, they also released the final numbers for their fiscal 2021 results – the fiscal year ending March 31, 2021. The only way I can characterize these numbers is to say that they are…in a word…stunning.
After the close of market on Wednesday, Sonos, Inc. (NASDAQ: SONO) reported their fiscal 2021, second quarter results which were very strong. On Wall Street they like to call that an “earnings surprise” and they really, really like it when it is a positive surprise. Sonos did not disappoint them.
In a move that has been widely anticipated for some time now, Wirepath Home Systems LLC, the corporate name for SnapAV, has filed paperwork with the SEC to preliminarily begin the process of registering their stock for sale to the public. We learn little in the rather terse announcement from the company, but many in the industry had expected this day would come for years now.
I can’t say this news from Onkyo Home Entertainment comes as much of a surprise. And based on conversations I’ve had with many of you over the last week or so, my reference a couple of weeks back to the growing romance between Onkyo and Voxx was clearly a wink-nod signal that I saw this coming. Onkyo has signed a preliminary agreement to sell their largest, but not their only, remaining division – the home audio/video division – to a partnership consisting of Sharp Corp. and Voxx Intl. The deal includes the Onkyo, Integra, Pioneer, and Pioneer Elite brands.
But after the abject failure of three previous attempts to sell the troubled company, will this deal actually close? See my thoughts…
Moody’s Investors Service, one of the top credit rating agencies in the world, said this month that DEI Sales, Inc., dba Sound United, has been assigned a credit rating of B2 and a probability of default rating of B2-PD. In addition to this, they are assigning another B2 rating to Sound United’s proposed $380 million senior secured first lien term loan due in 2028. The forward looking “outlook” for Sound United and this rating is “stable.”
