MAGAZINE
Sound United LLC, parent company of Denon, Polk Audio, Marantz, Definitive Technology, HEOS, Classé and Boston Acoustics, announced the completion of the acquisition of Bowers & Wilkins on the 9th of October.
“Acquiring Bowers & Wilkins combines its industry-leading acoustic design, engineering and manufacturing expertise in the premium category with Sound United’s scale, technical acumen and consumer reach to ensure Bowers & Wilkins thrives moving forward,” said Kevin Duffy, CEO at Sound United. “Sound United has a strong track record of enthusiastically protecting each of its brands’ unique identities and core competencies, and our approach with Bowers & Wilkins will be no different. In fact, we believe the entire portfolio stands to benefit from the addition of Bowers & Wilkins, which in turn translates into exciting new products, technologies and opportunities for our consumers, distributors, dealers, and all audio enthusiasts around the world.”
Geoff Edwards, CEO of Bowers & Wilkins, will continue as President of Bowers & Wilkins for Sound United, ensuring brand continuity. The acquisition includes all global third-party distribution and licensing agreements under which Bowers & Wilkins premium audio products are currently sold. Investment in additional brands will enable Sound United to take an even more innovative approach across product categories, feature sets, technology partnerships and consumer segments. As part of the acquisition, Sound United is committed to supporting the development of new Bowers & Wilkins products to strengthen their position in the premium home audio systems market.
“This acquisition represents a new era for Bowers & Wilkins and offers a fresh opportunity to focus on what we do best, building the industry’s finest loudspeakers,” according to Geoff Edwards, CEO of Bowers & Wilkins. “We’re looking forward to combining our organizations and becoming a part of the industry’s strongest portfolio of premium audio brands.”
Sound United is a portfolio company of Boston-based private equity firm Charlesbank Capital Partners, LLC. Houlihan Lokey was the exclusive financial advisor to Bowers & Wilkins.
