PAC, Peripheral Merge

By Amy Gilroy -- TWICE, 6/15/2009

Boston — Car accessories supplier Peripheral Electronics, a division of AAMP of America, will merge with PAC accessories and the Peripheral brand will be discontinued after six months, said AAMP.

PAC will become part of AAMP, according to Audax Group, which owns all three companies.

Audax, a venture development firm, decided to merge the PAC and Peripheral brands in light of the economy, said an AAMP spokesman, noting “The two brands use a lot of the same product development resources and reach similar channels and it made business sense, given the market right now, to merge the two brands.”

The merger is to be completed during the fourth quarter and the Peripheral Web site is expected to remain in operation for the next six months, said the spokesman. Peripheral products will be supported by firmware updates and technical support. After six months, Peripheral products will become PAC products, said the Aamp spokesman.

PAC will continue to operate out of its Santa Ana, Calif. facility, while Peripheral employees will work from the Clearwater, Florida-based AAMP headquarters. Employees at both locations will handle operations including engineering, R&D and sales.

AAMP also owns the Stinger, Sound Quest and iSimple brands.

AAMP also announced this month that the iSimple brand will branch beyond car stereo consumer-aimed accessories and will offer accessories in home and personal electronics.