Tempe, Ariz. – Rockford Corporation announced it has signed a definitive agreement to purchase MB Quart Akustik GmbH, parent company to MB Quart Electronics USA, for $6 million.
Rockford is purchasing the entire company including MB Quart in the United States and will operate the high-end speaker company based in Walpole, Mass., as a separate division with its own sales and marketing team, said Rockford’s CFO and VP of finance Jim Thompson. Keith Lehmann will remain president of MB Quart which will retain its specialty car and home audio dealer base, Thompson said.
Rockford said it purchased MB Quart’s parent company, which, according to Thompson, is in bankruptcy liquidation in Germany, to add a high-end brand to its mix. “We have an entry level product in Lightning Audio and Fosgate is the power brand addressing the mid-end and we were looking for a brand at the top of the market. More than likely we will introduce a new line of amplifiers and probably subwoofers under the name MB Quart for car audio” in January, Thompson noted.
Rockford said the purchase will also strengthen the company’s presence in Europe.
Thompson said the new name of the company will be Rockford MB Quart Acoustic GMBH.
MB Quart in the United States is primarily a specialty car audio supplier with 80 percent of its sales to the aftermarket and 20 percent in home audio.