Harman Acquires Masimo Audio Division for 500 Billion Won
Secures World-Class Premium Audio Brands Including B&W, Denon, and Marantz
Significantly Expands Portfolio in Portable and Car Audio Businesses
Synergy Expected with Samsung Electronics' Smart Device Audio Technology
Continuous Integration of Global Technology Companies in RCS, Voice Synthesis, Chatbots, and Network Design
Harman, a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics, has taken significant steps to strengthen its global audio business by acquiring a number of premium audio brands. This marks Samsung Electronics’ first major merger and acquisition (M&A) since it acquired Harman for approximately 9 trillion won in 2017, making it the first such move in eight years.
On May 6 (local time), Harman International signed a contract to acquire the audio division of the American company Masimo for $350 million (approximately 500 billion won). Through this acquisition, Harman will add globally renowned audio brands such as Bowers & Wilkins (B&W), Denon, Marantz, Polk, and Definitive Technology to its portfolio.
By adding this premium lineup to its existing brands?JBL, Harman Kardon, Mark Levinson, AKG, and Infinity?Harman will be able to further solidify its position as a leading name in the audio industry.
In particular, B&W, one of the brands acquired, is a high-end audio brand founded in the United Kingdom in 1966. It is highly regarded among audio professionals and enthusiasts for its luxurious materials, innovative design, and sophisticated sound technology. B&W’s flagship loudspeaker, the Nautilus, is priced at 150 million won per unit. Other popular products include the wireless speaker Zeppelin and the noise-canceling headphone PX7 series, both of which enjoy global popularity.
Another acquired brand, Denon, is a Japanese audio company established in 1910 and is one of the first companies in the world to introduce commercial CD players. Marantz, founded in the United States in 1953, is a specialized audio brand well known for its premium amplifiers and receivers.
With this acquisition, Harman is expanding its portfolio across both the consumer audio market and the car audio business. Last year, Harman achieved the top global market share in the portable audio market with approximately 60%, and it is also expanding its influence in the wireless earphone and headphone markets.
According to market research firms, the consumer audio market is expected to grow from $60.8 billion in 2025 to $70 billion in 2029. Harman’s strategy is to integrate the newly acquired brands into its existing lifestyle business division and solidify its position as the global leader in this market.
In the car audio sector, Harman is diversifying its portfolio with premium brands such as B&W, Harman Kardon, JBL, Mark Levinson, AKG, and Bang & Olufsen. The company plans to pursue both customized audio experiences for each vehicle and a premiumization strategy through collaboration with automobile manufacturers.
Dave Rogers, President of Harman Lifestyle Division, stated, “Harman is an audio company with a 75-year history, and with the addition of B&W, our identity as the world’s leading audio powerhouse has become even stronger.”
This acquisition is also significant in terms of synergy with Samsung Electronics’ mobile, TV, and home appliance products. Samsung Electronics has already applied Harman’s sound technology to products such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, wireless earphones, and soundbars to enhance audio quality.
Samsung Electronics expects to further enhance the premium customer experience by expanding the application of B&W, Denon, and Marantz’s high-end audio technologies across its entire product lineup, including Galaxy series, smart TVs, and wireless headphones. The company also plans to utilize these technologies to create premium audio environments integrated with its SmartThings smart home platform.
Masimo also evaluated the transfer of its audio division to Harman as the optimal choice for brand growth. Joe Kiani, CEO of Masimo, stated, “This is a strategic decision to focus on our core business, and we believe the audio division will experience further growth under Harman’s expertise and global network.” Harman aims to complete the acquisition process within this year.
Meanwhile, in recent years, Samsung Electronics has continued to acquire startups and specialized companies in advanced fields such as artificial intelligence (AI), networks, medical imaging, and audio.
In 2016, Samsung Electronics acquired NewNet Canada, a Canadian company specializing in next-generation communication technology (RCS). In 2017, it acquired Innoetics, a Greek startup specializing in text-to-speech (TTS) technology, as well as Fluenty, a Korean company developing AI-based conversational response systems (chatbots).
In 2018, Samsung acquired Zhilabs, a company specializing in analyzing network traffic and service quality. In 2019, it acquired Corephotonics, an Israeli company developing dual and multi-camera optical technology, and Foodient, a UK-based food solution startup that analyzes and recommends food information using AI technology.
In 2020, Samsung acquired TeleWorld Solutions, a US network specialist offering mobile network design and optimization solutions, thereby strengthening its competitiveness in 5G and telecommunications equipment.
In 2023, through Harman, Samsung acquired Apostera, a German AR head-up display software company, and Roon, an audio platform company. In 2024, Samsung Medison acquired Sonio, a French startup specializing in obstetric imaging analysis. In the same year, Samsung also established a joint venture with North American distributor Lennox and acquired Oxford Semantic Technologies, which possesses knowledge graph technology.
This series of M&As is interpreted as part of Samsung Electronics’ strategy to proactively build a technology convergence ecosystem, not only strengthening its hardware competitiveness but also leading in areas such as AI, audio, medical imaging, and smart home solutions.
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