Tokyo, Mar 21, 2008 (Jiji Press) - Major U.S. audio equipment maker Harman International Industries Inc. wants to buy Japanese rival D&M Holdings Inc. <6735> and take a dominant share in the global audio market, it was learned Friday.
Harman International, which makes high-quality speakers under the JBL brand, placed a bid in response to an invitation for tenders for the Japanese firm held by U.S. investment fund RHJ International, which has a 49 pct stake in the firm, informed sources said.
If Harman succeeds in purchasing all the shareholding of RHJ International, the total acquisition costs would come to about 70 billion yen, the sources said. RHJ will select a buyer this spring at the earliest.
Among others, Philips Electronics NV of the Netherlands with a 12 pct stake in D&M is also set to sell its shareholding.
D&M, which sells the Denon and Marantz brands of audio equipment, has expanded its operations by a string of acquisitions of U.S. and European makers. For the business year ending in March, the company's group operating profit is estimated at 6.4 billion yen, on sales of 108.5 billion yen, both record highs.
Harman boasts worldwide annual sales totaling some 3.5 billion dollars.
Copyright © 2010 JCN. All rights reserved. A division of Japan Corporate News Network KK.
|
Recent
Electronics
News
|
RSS
|
|
 |
|
|
|
