Big changes for two AV stalwarts today, with the news that D+M Group, the company formed by the merger of Denon and Marantz, has been sold to a US private equity firm.
The new owner is Sound United, with Boston Acoustics, Denon, HEOS by Denon and Marantz joining Definitive Technology and Polk Audio on the company's consumer electronics roster. Sound United is a division of DEI Holdings, a portfolio company of Boston-based private equity firm Charlesbank Capital Partners. Charlesbank acquired DEI Holdings in 2011.
As expected, the talk is of expanding product portfolios and extending the reach of the brands, with the new owners eager to stress Denon and Marantz will keep their own identities.
Kevin Duffy, CEO of Sound United, said: "We welcome the addition of the D+M team and are excited to work together to ensure that this strategic combination capitalizes on its global leadership position, while also ensuring that each of our individual brands continues to be highly differentiated in the marketplace. Our existing customers and channel partners will benefit from the enhanced breadth and depth of the combined product portfolio, while our strategic suppliers should be well-positioned to expand with us as we grow.”
However, with plenty of product crossover between Denon and Marantz - notably in the world of AV receivers - it will be interesting to see how the two companies progress following this news.
While Marantz is a more specialist brand, popular in territories such as the UK and Japan, with its headphone and wireless speaker ranges, as well as hi-fi and home cinema products, Denon arguably has the wider appeal.
Marantz picked-up a What Hi-Fi? Award for its CD6006 CD player, while Denon's AVR-X2300W was our favourite home cinema amplifier of last year.
See all our Denon reviews
See all our Marantz reviews
