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Savant Partners with Top Solar Provider Sunder Energy to Make Solar Smart

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Savant app on tablet and smartphone

I first heard about Savant’s interest in energy for the home back in 2018 when a company representative walked me through the Racepoint Energy booth at CEDIA Expo 2018. Racepoint Energy was a sister company to Savant and the two were partnering on creating new concepts in automating, monitoring, and controlling power as part of a smart home system. Ultimately, the two companies would merge to become Savant Power which turbocharged the development of deeper integration and automation of energy solutions for the now smarter smart home.

Now, Savant is partnering with Sunder Energy to provide smart solar power…

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Gentex to Acquire Voxx Intl for $7.50/Share

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Image from Gentex website
Irony – talking about the future while looking in the rearview mirror

Long rumored and now confirmed, Gentex Corporation (Nasdaq: GNTX), an approximately $2.4 billion supplier of largely automotive-related products, announced this morning that it has agreed to acquire Voxx International (Nasdaq: VOXX) in an all-cash transaction valued at $7.50 per share. The transaction covers all Voxx divisions, including the newly shrunk Premium Audio Company that holds just three audio brands – Onkyo, Klipsch, and Integra.

Learn more on the acquisition of Voxx Int’l by Gentex Corp

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Procella Audio Appoints Tom Gandulla U.S. Director of Sales

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Procella Audio logo

Procella Audio BV, a manufacturer of high-performance speakers for residential and commercial cinemas, announced on Tuesday that it has appointed well-known industry executive Tom Gandulla as its U.S. Director of Sales. Gandulla’s appointment was announced by Procella’s USA Managing Director Chuck Back.

See more on the Procella Audio appointment of Tom Gandulla

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Masimo Responds to ‘Speculative Articles’ on Sound United

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Marantz Grand Horizon speaker from the Masimo Sound United group
Marantz’s just launched Grand Horizon loudspeaker [Click to enlarge]

‘Discontinued Operation’ is a Financial Reporting Designation

Late Tuesday, Masimo’s communications team reached out to Strata-gee to provide a statement designed to counter or otherwise address unspecified “speculative articles” on the recent pronouncement from Masimo CFO Micah Young that the Sound United division may end up being treated as a “discontinued operation” if the Board decides not to spin it off as a publicly-traded company.

Why are people speculating about that? Read on…

See more on the Sound United ‘Discontinued Operation’ controversy

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J Geiger Shade Maker’s Gamble on New Trial with Lutron Cost It $1.2 Million

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Photo from lawsuit showing the Lutron bracket (R) looks identical to the J Geiger bracket made by GeigTech (L)
Patented GeigTech (J Geiger) bracket on the left, Lutron copy on the right [Click to enlarge]

Last week, a jury was convened for a special trial to determine reasonable damages in the matter of GeigTech East Bay LLC v. Lutron Electronics Co., Inc. GeigTech, the plaintiff in this case is the manufacturer of motorized shade products marketed under the J Geiger brand, an independent company owned by Savant (and which is not a party to this litigation). Lutron has already been found to have infringed on certain patents held by Geigtech and the original jury’s large damages award was set aside by the judge who found it to be excessive. This new trial was held to determine a more reasonable damages amount.

See the painful result for Geigtech in this new trial

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Samsung Electronics and Union Finally Reach a Preliminary Agreement

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NSEU union members in a rally outside of Samsung Headquarters

Samsung Electronics and the largest union at the company have finally reached a preliminary agreement on a new contract that provides for a wage increase as well as other benefit enhancements, the company announced today in Korea. The deal should put an end to any further labor actions. However, it still needs to be ratified by the union membership.

Learn more about this first labor action at Samsung

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Sonance Continues to Build Its Pro Audio Team, Adding Glenn Kalinowski

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Glenn Kalinowski, Sonance Director of Sales and Strategic Partnerships

Sonance, a leading manufacturer of fine custom integration audio gear, announced last week that it has appointed Glenn Kalinowski as Director of Sales and Strategic Partnerships. Kalinowski, the company says, is a “trusted industry expert” who will oversee key territories in North America, including Canada.

Learn more about this Sonance appointment of Glenn Kalinowski

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Masimo Releases 3Q/2024 Results, First Under New Management; Investors Like It

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Masimo cover page

Sound United to be ‘A Discontinued Operation’

On Tuesday, Masimo Corporation (Nasdaq: MASI) announced the results of its financial performance for the third quarter (3Q) of Fiscal 2024 (FY2024) – the first such report under the new management. While the report comes from the new management, including interim CEO Michelle Brennan, the period of this report is for the quarter that ended September 28, 2024 – meaning the bulk of the actual performance occurred under previous CEO Joe Kiani. Still, the numbers, for the most part, looked pretty good.

Learn all about the performance of Masimo in 3Q/2024

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A Giant Stumbles: Samsung Chip Div. Operating Profits Drop a Stunning 40%

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A flag showing the Samsung logo

Samsung Electronics, Inc. – a giant in the global consumer electronics industry – saw operating profits drop a stunning 40% in its all-important Device Solutions Division compared to the previous quarter. Device Solutions is its semiconductor division and many in the industry are watching this division closely, as it is a key part of Samsung’s business. But recently, the company – in a rare miss – failed to get on board with the rapid growth of the artificial intelligence (AI) industry early on. It is now running to catch up to competitors and this result shows they are not yet there.

See more on this rare stumble from industry giant Samsung

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Masimo Terminates Kiani’s Employment; Files Lawsuit Alleging He Violated Securities Law

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Header of Masimo lawsuit against Joe Kiani & RTW

In a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the new Masimo (Nasdaq: MASI) Board of Directors reaffirmed its non-GAAP 3Q and full-year financial guidance as previously provided by the company to investors. It also notified the commission that the Board has officially terminated the employment of former CEO Joe Kiani.

Perhaps most surprisingly, it has additionally filed a major lawsuit against Joe Kiani and RTW Investments alleging, among other things, that they colluded to create a group that violated federal securities laws.

See more on this latest filing with the SEC by the new Masimo Board of Directors

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