Strategy in TECH...
Houston, TX-based WAVE Electronics, one of the nation’s largest independent distributors for the custom integration industry, announced today that it has acquired KOA Electronics Distribution, itself a leading CI distributor based in Panorama City, CA. This merger creates a mega-distribution business spanning multiple locations in multiple states.
The day after we learned about the acquisition of Snap One by security company Resideo, Moody’s Investors Service, Inc., one of the nation’s preeminent credit rating agencies, issued its initial judgment of the impact of this deal on Resideo’s creditworthiness. What they had to say kind of swung two ways so I thought I would share its perspective with you.
It has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride for everyone at AudioControl over the last couple of years. The company, a leading specialty manufacturer of integrator-focused, high-quality audio electronics, has had three different owners in the last two years. Have they finally found their new home?
Lenbrook Corporation, a Canadian company that holds a portfolio of premium specialty brands, announced this morning it has acquired the assets of MQA, ltd., the U.K.-based company behind the Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) high-resolution audio encoding system in a transaction it hopes will breathe new life into the technology that had fallen into a form of receivership upon the loss of its major financial backer. Terms of the deal were not disclosed as part of this announcement.
The day after the Strata-gee story titled, Audio Research Corp is Sold; Or Is It? ran last month, I received an unexpected call from Valerio Cora, CEO of Acora Acoustics, the winning bidder and the likely new owner of Audio Research Corp (Audio Research or ARC). Cora was concerned that Strata-gee’s coverage of Audio Research’s issues had raised some questions – even going so far as to suggest that he felt my coverage was scaring people. He wanted to set the record straight on what is going on with Audio Research.
On Monday, two well-known and highly regarded manufacturer sales representative firms in Northern California announced they were joining forces by combining their respective operations. Fielder Marketing, based in Reno, Nevada is acquiring Rich Jackson A/V, based in Alameda, California.
On April 11, 2022, Masimo Corp. appointed Kevin Duffy – then CEO of Sound United – President of the Consumer Division of Masimo Corp. as part of its $1 billion acquisition of Viper Holdings Corp., Sound United’s parent company. Duffy was offered a fairly rich package, with salary and certain other benefits and perks that could be worth millions of dollars, in some cases after a vesting period.
Then, just ninety days later, the company filed paperwork with the SEC saying that it had terminated Duffy “without cause.”
Highlander Partners, L.P., a Dallas-based private equity company, announced today that it has acquired McIntosh Group, a manufacturing and distribution company that offers several high-performance, high-end audio brands such as McIntosh, Sonus Faber, and Sumiko. It also operates under Fine Sounds U.K. and Fine Sounds Benelux.
Multiple sources report – and I have confirmed – that stalwart screen maker Stewart Filmscreen has been acquired by Shackleton Equity Partners, a private equity company. The deal is said to have gone down just days ago and Stewart now has a new chairman, Mark Schelbert, who is also a managing director at Shackleton.
AAMP Global, a leading global manufacturer of a wide array of technology products for the personal and commercial vehicle markets, announced today the strategic acquisition of AudioControl – the well-known specialty manufacturer of electronics products for the automotive, residential, and commercial audio channels. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but AAMP says that AudioControl’s Seattle, WA-based operations and team will continue to operate as an independent facility under the AAMP Global umbrella.
I spoke with top executives of both companies to learn more about what drew the parties together and just what is meant by a “strategic” acquisition.
