Sound United ends plan to buy Onkyo and Pioneer

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The owner of Denon and Marantz is no longer acquiring Onkyo and Pioneer

Sound United ends plan to buy Onkyo and Pioneer
(Image credit: Onkyo)

Sound United has announced the termination of the agreement to acquire Onkyo's home audio division, announcing in a statement that the two companies have "mutually agreed" not to complete the deal.

The acquisition plans were revealed back in May, but it has since become apparent "that all of the necessary closing conditions could not be satisfactorily achieved". 

Completion of the deal was naturally subject to various conditions, completion of satisfactory due diligence and securing of committed financing. It seems not all the boxes managed to get ticked.

Sound United already boasts brands including Denon, Marantz, Polk Audio, Classé and Boston Acoustics in its portfolio. 

The move to add Onkyo's consumer audio division, which includes the Onkyo, Pioneer, Pioneer Elite, and Integra brands, was set to make the company an even bigger player in the home audio market. But for now at least, that deal is off.

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Joe Cox
Joe Cox
Content Director

Joe is the Content Director for What Hi-Fi? and Future’s Product Testing, having previously been the Global Editor-in-Chief of What Hi-Fi?. He has worked on What Hi-Fi? across the print magazine and website for almost 20 years, writing news, reviews and features on everything from turntables to TVs, headphones to hi-fi separates. He has covered product launch events across the world, from Apple to Technics, Sony and Samsung; reported from CES, the Bristol Show, and Munich High End for many years; and written for sites such as the BBC, Stuff, and the Guardian. In his spare time, he enjoys expanding his vinyl collection and cycling (not at the same time).