Sound United, the parent of the Polk Audio, Definitive Technology and Polk Boom brands, has officially acquired the D+M Group, owner of the Denon, Heos by Denon, Marantz and Boston Acoustics brands.
The deal brings together the largest supplier of audio/video receivers worldwide (D+M) with the largest supplier of loudspeakers in North America (Sound United).
Kevin Duffy, CEO of Sound United, will serve as CEO of the combined company. D+M Group CEO Jim Caudill will continue as an advisor to the consolidated company. The combined company will be known as Sound United.
The sale was finalized on Feb. 28. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.
Sound United is a division of DEI Holdings, owned by Boston-based private equity firm Charlesbank Capital Partners.
“This transaction is a testament to D+M Group’s employees and exceptional brands and all that we’ve accomplished in the audio industry,” said Caudill. “By joining Sound United, we expect to deliver tremendous value to our customers through access to Sound United’s aspirational speaker brands including Polk Audio and Definitive Technology. We believe that this transaction will drive compelling opportunities for our employees, customers, and suppliers, and are looking forward to ensuring the success of the new organization.”
“Sound United and the D+M Group employees share a culture of innovation and customer focus,” Duffy said in a statement to the press. “We plan to leverage those core values in the combined company in order to offer consumers and our channel partners a breadth of complementary products while expanding our investments in technology development and marketing.”
He continued: “We welcome the addition of the D+M team and are excited to work together to ensure that this strategic combination capitalizes on its global leadership position while also ensuring that each of our individual brands continues to be highly differentiated in the marketplace. Our existing customers and channel partners will benefit from the enhanced breadth and depth of the combined product portfolio, while our strategic suppliers should be well-positioned to expand with us as we grow.”
