The long-awaited closing of Masimo Corp.’s (NASDAQ: MASI) sale of Sound United (formerly Masimo Consumer) to Harman International, a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics, has been formally completed. Both parties of the transaction put out their own separate announcements, with Masimo’s version quite short and perfunctory, while Harman’s gave little more than an inkling of what is to become of Sound United.
Learn all about the completion of the sale of Sound United…
I first reported on the sale of Sound United back in May. At that time, I reminded Strata-gee readers that Masimo purchased Sound United from private equity firm Charlesbank Capital Partners in February 2022 for $1.025 billion. After a wild ride, and the exit of Masimo’s former CEO and Founder, Joe Kiani, it sold Sound United to Harman International for just $350 million, only about a third of the division’s expected annual revenues.
The only mystery to me was why, at the time of the May announcement, Harman was projecting that the deal would close by the end of the year. Why so long…I wondered. Harman is a very experienced acquirer of brands, with many of those in its stable resulting from past acquisitions. Often, those transactions were closed within a matter of weeks or just a couple of months. Yet here, they were suggesting it could take as long as seven months to close this Sound United deal. What’s up with that?!?!
One Mystery is Solved
Well, that mystery is now solved, with this closing coming nearly 100 days before the end of the year. A source at the CEDIA Expo 2025 earlier this month told me the closing was “imminent.” That source was spot on.
Masimo had this to say about the deal…
The completion of the Sound United sale is an important milestone in our ongoing efforts to focus on our core professional healthcare business. With this chapter behind us, we are even better positioned to broaden Masimo’s patient impact, accelerate growth, and deliver stronger margins. We have exciting opportunities ahead, and I am confident that we will be able to continue building on our positive momentum to deliver value for all stakeholders. Finally, on behalf of the entire leadership team, I want to thank the Sound United team for their dedication and wish them continued success as part of HARMAN.
Katie Szyman, Masimo Chief Executive Officer
A ‘Strategic Milestone’ for Harman
Besides the Szyman statement shown above, the company had little more to say, other than it will use the proceeds from this sale to purchase more of its own shares as part of a share buyback program. It also identified its advisors in the transaction.
Harman offered a little more in their announcement, but only a little. Characterizing this acquisition as a “strategic milestone,” Harman noted that the transaction represents a “significant expansion in Harman’s core audio business.” It added, “Combining Sound United’s distinguished portfolio with its world-renowned audio business enables Harman to deliver one of the most comprehensive audio portfolios in the industry.”
To remind readers, Sound United’s brand portfolio includes: Denon, Marantz, Classé, Bowers & Wilkins (B&W), HEOS, Boston Acoustics, Polk Audio, and Definitive Technology. Harman’s brand portfolio includes: AKG, Harman Kardon, Infinity, JBL, Lexicon, Mark Levinson, Arcam, Revel, and more.
Unlocking Growth Opportunities
Harman’s vision is to create experiences that enrich people’s lives through exceptional audio experiences. Sound United’s impressive roster of brands is rooted in a deep passion for sound, innovation, and commitment to quality that aligns with Harman’s own values. This transaction unlocks meaningful growth opportunities for everyone. It bolsters Harman’s strategy to build on its unparalleled success story and scale to unprecedented heights as an audio leader.
Dave Rogers, President of Harman Lifestyle Division
Perhaps one of the most significant details revealed in the company’s announcement is this: “Sound United will operate as a standalone Strategic Business Unit (SBU) within Harman’s Lifestyle Division.”
This Fact is Significant
Why is that significant? When this acquisition was initially announced, almost everyone assumed that Harman would fold Sound United into its Harman Luxury Audio Division. However, this statement seems to suggest that it will operate as its own unit. That could be significant in ensuring its independence and future audio success, as its product profile is in many ways quite distinct from Harman Luxury Audio Division’s offerings. Yes, there is some crossover, but overall, the two divisions are quite distinct.
Says the Harman announcement: “This structure ensures that each brand’s heritage, expertise, and loyal customer base remain central to their identity.
Opportunities of Mutual Benefit
In a video interview of Rogers released by Harman, he discussed opportunities for synergistic efforts that benefit both parties. For example, he mentioned the fact that Sound United brings more factories online that potentially could be useful to Harman, such as a loudspeaker factory in the U.K. and an electronics factory in Japan. At the same time, he said Harman has a well-developed distribution operation in major parts of the world, such as South America, that could be useful to expanding Sound United’s business there as well.
Rogers also spoke of the opportunities for technology transfer and best practices transfer between the two audio divisions. With the closing of this transaction, the reality is that for Harman, the easy part is over. Now comes the really, really hard part of blending two distinctly different organizations with often conflicting corporate cultures, customer bases, and distribution profiles. Folks, it is NOT easy, and this is where there are ample opportunities for the wheels to come off the wagon.
I’m Rooting For Them
But I’m rooting for them. More than Harman, Sound United is a systemically important brand in the audio industry. AUDIO…needs them to succeed, and Harman is their best shot at turning the business around.
Learn more about Harman International by visiting harman.com.
I would think a realignment would add Marantz, Classe and B&W to Levenson, Arcam and Revel in Luxury, and combine H-K, Denon, HEOS, Polk, BA, Deftech and Infinity in a more general consumer division.
Other than moving Arcam to the general consumer division, this sounds like a good idea, at least on paper.