14-November, Seoul – Samsung announces the upcoming acquisition of Harman International Industries for $112.00 per share in cash, or total equity value of approximately $8.0 billion. They are primarily planning to leverage some of Harman’s technology assets to buy into the connected automotive electronics and audio industry. Samsung is projecting to serve a $100b+ market by 2025.
Next to automotive they could leverage some of Harman’s subsidiaries, like AMX, to support the development of their enterprise facilities control system “Artik” and include the room control solutions of AMX. If you want to find out more, you can check out the presentation deck, provided by Samsung.
Subsidiaries of Harman Group
- AKG Acoustics – microphone/headphones
- AMX – video switching and control devices
- Bang & Olufsen Automotive
- Becker – car infotainment
- BSS Audio – signal processing
- Crown International – pro amplifiers
- dbx Professional Products – signal processors
- DigiTech – guitar products
- HardWire – guitar pedals
- HiQnet – audio digital network, based on Ethernet
- harman/kardon – home/car audio
- Infinity – home/car speakers
- JBL – home/car speakers & amplifiers, professional speakers
- Lexicon – digital processing
- Mark Levinson Audio Systems – home/car audio
- Martin Professional – stage and architectural lighting and effects fixtures
- Revel – home speakers
- Selenium – home, car and professional speakers, amplifiers, sound tables/mixers
- S1nn GmbH & Co.
- Soundcraft – mixing consoles
- Studer – mixing consoles
Leadership insight
“HARMAN perfectly complements Samsung in terms of technologies, products, and solutions, and joining forces is a natural extension of the automotive strategy we have been pursuing for some time,” said Oh-Hyun Kwon, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Samsung Electronics. “As a Tier 1 automotive supplier with deep customer relationships, strong brands, leading technology and a recognized portfolio of best-in-class products, HARMAN immediately establishes a strong foundation for Samsung to grow our automotive platform. Dinesh Paliwal is a proven global leader and, in our extensive discussions, we have developed deep respect for him, his strong senior leadership team and HARMAN’s talented employees. HARMAN’s sustained track record of rapid growth fueled by technology leadership and an unmatched automotive order pipeline reflects its commitment to innovation and customers.”
“The vehicle of tomorrow will be transformed by smart technology and connectivity in the same way that simple feature phones have become sophisticated smart devices over the past decade,” added Young Sohn, President and Chief Strategy Officer of Samsung Electronics. “We see substantial long-term growth opportunities in the auto technology market as demand for Samsung’s specialized electronic components and solutions continues to grow. Working together, we are confident that HARMAN can become a new kind of Tier 1 provider to the OEMs by delivering end-to-end solutions across the connected ecosystem.”
Dinesh Paliwal, HARMAN Chairman, President and CEO, stated, “This compelling all-cash transaction will deliver significant and immediate value to our shareholders and provide new opportunities for our employees as part of a larger, more diversified company. Today’s announcement is a testament to what we have achieved and the value that we have created for shareholders. Samsung is an ideal partner for HARMAN and this transaction will provide tremendous benefits to our automotive customers and consumers around the world. Combining Samsung’s strengths in leading-edge displays, connectivity and processing solutions with HARMAN’s technology leadership and long-standing customer relationships will enable OEMs to provide new offerings for their customers. Partnerships and scale are essential to winning over the long term in automotive as demand for robust connected car and autonomous driving solutions increases at a rapid pace. This transaction will bring HARMAN and Samsung’s complementary strengths together to accelerate innovation in this space. More broadly, this investment underscores the strength of HARMAN’s employees, as well as our success and leadership across our markets. We look forward to working together with Samsung to elevate experiences for consumers worldwide.”
Photo credit: Samsung
Source: Samsung press release / Wikipedia
Editorial notice: The quotes were provided by Samsung as part of the press release
