Immersive Audio Technologies Group has purchased the StormAudio luxury audio brand from Auro Technologies.
The terms of the agreement, finalized on Dec. 1, were not disclosed. The deal was orchestrated by Yves Trélohan, senior VP of Auro’s home entertainment and luxury audio product division, and is being completed with the support of Saffelberg Investments. Trélohan has been with Auro since it was acquired from Digital Media Solutions, where he was CEO.
StormAudio manufactures preamp/processors, power amplifiers and an A/V receiver, all geared toward the high-end consumer.
Immersive Audio Technologies will use its Nantes, France, facility as global headquarters for sales, marketing, R&D and manufacturing, along with StormAudio’s existing Novato, Calif., North American sales, marketing and dealer support subsidiary and Hong-Kong sales and service support center.
Because StormAudio had previously been organized as a separate fully functional business unit within Auro Technologies, day-to-day operations are expected to be uninterrupted by the deal. Existing StormAudio infrastructure, personnel, phone numbers, website and warehousing will not change.
“I’m excited about this acquisition for many reasons,” says Trélohan. “The response from the channel is that we’ve demonstrated technological superiority with the StormAudio product line. This has required both continuous hard work and expenditures on the product development side. The strong financial support provided by Saffelberg Investments will hugely benefit our StormAudio brand expansion as we set our sights on taking the brand to the No. 1 position in the luxury immersive audio hardware category.”
“Whilst we maintain a great relationship with Auro,” Trélohan continued, “we are also excited about working more closely on technical and marketing initiatives with Dolby and DTS. For our dealers and distributors, we are committed to full sales, technical and product development support, including full presence at CES, ISE and CEDIA Expos and many regional trade shows around the world.”
