Chinese interest for Bang & Olufsen

Danish luxury hifi and consumer electronics manufacturer Bang & Olufsen is talking to its Chinese business partner Sparkle Roll Group about a possible acquisition.

Onerous for 3 years

Spark Roll Group is in exclusive talks with Danish Bang & Olufsen, as confirmed by the Chinese in a press release. The company did add no price agreement had been reached so far. Both companies know each other well: Bang & Olufsen and Sparkle Roll Group signed a collaboration deal for the Chinese market in 2012, as the latter is specialized in the import and sale of luxury brands like Boucheron, Oettinger, Davidoff, Lamborghini, Bentley and Rolls Royce.

Bang & Olufsen, founded 91 years ago, is listed on the Copenhagen stock exchange and worth 400 million euro. However, it has been onerous for the past three years and its expensive design devices are losing sales in a market where the consumer listens to music on his smartphone instead of an expensive hifi installation.

Excellent reputation

Back in 2014, CEO Ole Andersen said Bang & Olufsen was too small to survive in a world dominated by giants like South Korean Samsung or Japanese Sony. Sparkle Roll Group’s CEO, affluent Qi Jianhong, believes B&O’s excellent reputation can help turn the tide. “We love the unique brand’s products, innovation and intrinsic value, recognized all across the world.” He believes a new owner could “make funds available to speed up growth and to consolidate its position.”

B&O sold its automotive division (car radios and speakers) to Harman International last year, bringing in 145 million euro. Only last week, it said it would outsource its television manufacturing to Taiwanese LG Electronics.