Harman To Acquire B&W, Denon, Polk And Marantz From Masimo In $350 Million Deal


just saw the above announcement--of particular note is that masimo paid over a billion for the same brands just a few years ago. not sure whether harman will add any value--they've neither hurt nor helped revel or arcam--or what this move indicates about the consumer audio market generally, but this doesn't bode well for the future.

loomisjohnson

Showing 1 response by mashif

Personally I think Samsung/Harman has been a good corporate parent of their high end brands. I was rightly concerned when they bought JBL back in the 1990s and turned out a bunch of mediocre products. But since Samsung took over, they've allowed the consumer, high end, and pro divisions to separate and put out great stuff for each market. 

They seem to allow each brand to focus on their core customers instead of trying to be all things. Like any corporate parent, if a division hits their numbers, management continues as is. If not, things change. But it seems like there's continuity of brand identity and quality. 

And there are still plenty of boutique brands to explore. I'm more concerned about their continuity when founders leave.