Harman, a Samsung Electronics Subsidiary, Acquires Masimo's Audio Division for 500 Billion KRW

Securing Premium Brands Including B&W, Denon, and Marantz
Strategy for Becoming a Global Audio Powerhouse... Portfolio Expansion
Targeting the Car Audio Market... Expanding Collaborations with Automotive Brands
Synergy with Samsung Electronics... Integrating Audio Technology into Mobile Devices and TVs

Harman, a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics, is set to acquire the audio division of the US-based company Masimo. Through this deal, Harman will secure a portfolio of premium audio brands, including B&W (Bowers & Wilkins), as well as Denon and Marantz.

On May 6 (local time), Harman announced that it had signed an agreement to acquire Masimo's audio business division for $350 million (approximately 500 billion KRW). With this acquisition, Harman aims to strengthen its competitiveness across the consumer audio and car audio sectors, further solidifying its position as a 'global audio powerhouse.'

The brands acquired by Harman include not only B&W, Denon, and Marantz, but also Polk and Definitive Technology. B&W, founded in the UK in 1966, is renowned for its artistic design and high sound quality.

The 'Nautilus' speaker is a high-end product with a price exceeding 150 million KRW per unit, and football star David Beckham has served as a brand ambassador for it.

Harman plans to expand its market presence in areas such as portable audio, headphones, and wireless earphones by adding these newly acquired brands to its existing portfolio, which includes JBL, Harman Kardon, and Mark Levinson. Last year, Harman ranked first in the portable audio market with a market share of about 60%.

In the car audio market, Harman intends to provide differentiated audio experiences for each automotive brand by adding B&W to its lineup alongside Harman Kardon, JBL, Mark Levinson, and Bang & Olufsen.

The synergy with Samsung Electronics is also drawing attention. Samsung Electronics has previously integrated Harman's AKG and Harman Kardon sound technologies into its smartphones, tablets, laptops, wireless earphones, and TVs. With this acquisition, Samsung is expected to further enhance audio quality in its smart devices by incorporating the audio technologies of B&W, Denon, and Marantz.

Dave Rogers, President of Harman Lifestyle Division, stated, "As a world-class audio specialist, Harman has further strengthened its position as a true audio powerhouse by acquiring B&W." The acquisition process is expected to be completed within this year.