Harman acquires Masimo’s audio arm in Samsung’s car audio push

Harman International Industries Inc., wholly owned by Samsung Electronics Co., has acquired Masimo Corp.’s audio business for $350 million, a deal that reinforces Samsung's ambitions in automotive sound and connected technology.

Harman, a US-based audio and automotive electronics maker, on Tuesday signed a definitive agreement to buy the Sound United consumer audio business from Masimo, a US healthcare company, Samsung and Masimo jointly announced.

The all-cash deal marked Samsung’s largest acquisition since its $8-billion purchase of Harman in 2017. Harman leads Samsung’s automotive electronics business.

“The addition of the brands of B&W, Denon, Marantz, Polk and Definitive Technology (under Sound United) will cement Harman’s position as a leading global audio company and will strengthen its competitiveness across consumer and car audio markets,” Samsung said in a press release.

B&W, founded in 1966, is a well-known high-end British audio brand loved by professionals and enthusiasts alike for its unique design, premium materials and high-quality sound.

Harman, the world’s largest portal audio producer, is expanding in the headphone and wireless earbud markets. Its portfolio of audio brands includes Harman Kardon, Bang & Olufsen, JBL, AKG, Infinity and Mark Levinson.

Masimo Group is a health technology company specializing in patient monitoring and sensing devices. It acquired Sound United in 2022, but then decided to unload it due to worsening financial conditions.

Samsung will incorporate Sound United’s audio technology into its consumer products such as smartphones, headsets, TVs and soundbars.

“Harman’s acquisition of a global audio company is very meaningful in that it will enhance sound and audio technologies that differentiate Samsung’s mobile and TV products,” said Samsung. “It will also create synergy by integrating speakers and audio devices with our SmartThings services.”

In addition to the premium Nautilus loudspeaker, which sells for over 150 million won ($110,000) per unit, B&W’s wireless speaker Zeppelin is well-known for its iconic curved design and the PX7 headphone series featuring noise-cancelling technology.

“This acquisition represents a strategic step forward in the expansion of Harman’s core audio business and footprint across key product categories such as Home Audio, Headphones, Hi-fi components and Car Audio,” Dave Rogers, president of Harman’s Lifestyle division, said in a press release issued by Masimo.

Harman and Masimo aim to close the deal by the end of this year.

Write to Chae-Yeon Kim at Why29@hankyung.com
 

Yeonhee Kim edited this article.