musht Posted November 14, 2016 Share Posted November 14, 2016 and a few other well known brands in the deal, Osram own Clay Paky, Philips now own most of the rest. http://news.harman.com/releases/samsung-electronics-to-acquire-harman-accelerating-growth-in-automotive-and-connected-technologies?preview=1455 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelgrian Posted November 14, 2016 Share Posted November 14, 2016 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-11-14/samsung-electronics-agrees-to-buy-harman-for-8-billion-in-cash They want it for the car audio business but, if the deal closes, along the way they will pick up such brands as BSS, AKG, JBL and Soundcraft. I expect divestitures of the bits they aren't interested in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gareth Posted November 14, 2016 Share Posted November 14, 2016 New product on the horizon, perhaps ... realistic fire effects ... http://ichef-1.bbci.co.uk/news/660/cpsprodpb/1B3D/production/_91537960_whatsubject.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gareth A Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 Well - I guess their R&D department already like pyrotechnics as Gareth says :) Realistic fire effects! Wow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5catfish Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 The audio side of the business will not be of intertest to them.... They are buying for purely automotive reasons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judge Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 This seems like am odd investment for them. Why not just do a licensing deal with the part that interests them? What will happen to the parts that they are not going to bother with like Soundcraft and Martin? Are they in danger? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart91 Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 What will happen to the parts that they are not going to bother with like Soundcraft and Martin? Are they in danger? If the brands/product lines are profitable in their own right, then they won't simply disappear overnight. It might make sense to sell them on to someone else - the question would be who. The entertainment related brands could all be spun off as a separate entity, either sold as a package or left to fend for itself. The danger is that, as a small part of the very large Samsung conglomerate, they are left to wither. Nobody can expect top management to pay much attention to a non-core business that only contributes fractionally to the group income. Historically, brands from our industry seem to have done better when part of a small group of similar sized operations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judge Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 This sort of thing puzzles me. If firms are profitable in their own right, such as both Martin Audio (bought by Loudtech) and Martin Light (bought by Harman) why do they allow themselves to be bought out?And once bought can they then become independent again? Presumably a large management buy out is required as happened to Avolites. edit: just found out that there was an buyout attempt in 2007, also for $8 billion. This was a nasty looking Goldman Sachs/private equity deal. washington post article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 If firms are profitable in their own right, such as both Martin Audio (bought by Loudtech) and Martin Light (bought by Harman) why do they allow themselves to be bought out? Economics 101. It's the legal duty of a companies board to maximise shareholder value. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alistermorton Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 Maximising shareholder value is a somewhat nebulous statement, though, and isn't as simple as maximising profits at all costs. Certainly in the US and the UK it is generally held to be acting in the shareholders best interests, and this can involve reputation, so AIUI if profits can be (and are) increased by say polluting the environment or by engaging in highly questionable tax constructs, the directors can be held not to have acted in the shareholders best interests overall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judge Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 Well thank goodness that kind of thing never happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alistermorton Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 Perish the thought! However, it is often used to excuse just such behaviour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart91 Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 The problem, of course, is that for Samsung shareholders, the Harmann brands that we're concerned about are a very small fraction of the value of the overall company. So there's not going to be much push from that angle to see them flourish. Martin or Soundcraft could be semi-accidentally run into the ground and it wouldn't even rate a mention at the annual shareholders' meeting... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dosxuk Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 I wouldn't be surprised to see the pro-audio (+ Martin LX) brands end up with Music Group, it's clear Samsung's not interested in them, while Music Group do seem to be interested in widening their portfolio. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart91 Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 I could see Martin Lighting being an attractive proposition to Music Group, if they want to expand in that direction. Not sure how useful Soundcraft would be alongside Midas and Behringer - what products do they offer that don't have an equivalent within Music Group already? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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