Audiovox Adds Energizer Brand For Accessories

By John Laposky -- TWICE, 11/5/2007

HAUPPAUGE, N.Y. — Audiovox Accessories Corp. (AAC) has acquired Energizer brand licensee Technuity for $16.5 million plus the repayment of $4 million of debt and pending earn-outs if earnings and sales targets are met.

The deal comes fresh off of its purchase of the RCA A/V business last month (TWICE, Oct. 22, p. 1). Technuity is the exclusive licensee of the Energizer brand in North America, marketing Energizer-branded accessories products such as chargers for rechargeable batteries and battery packs for camcorders, cordless phones, digital cameras and DVD players, as well as for power supply systems, automatic voltage regulators and surge protectors.

The company also designs, manufactures and markets licensed carrying cases and accessories for portable media products and digital cameras.

Pat Lavelle, president/CEO of AAC parent Audiovox Corporation, said in a release, "This latest acquisition will further strengthen our accessories product lines and core offerings to our customers. Energizer's highly recognized consumer brands — Energizer, known for the 'Energizer Bunny' and Eveready brand — hold the top two market positions in every category in which it competes and coupled with our previous acquisitions of Terk, RCA and Oehlbach, make Audiovox a significant player in the accessories market."

Lavelle continued, "We expect this deal to add in excess of $30 million to our annual sales and at higher margins than our core business. This business is growing and will be accretive to our bottom line. We intend to continue to pursue strategic acquisitions within our core competencies that can generate higher and sustainable returns for our shareholders over the long-term."