Gibson To Buy Majority Stake in TEAC

It was announced Friday March 29 that guitar manufacturer Gibson was to buy a majority stake in Japanese company TEAC, which manufactures audio components sold under the TEAC, Tascam, and Esoteric brandnames. From the press release: "Gibson has entered into an agreement, signed today, with Phoenix Capital in which two investment funds operated by Phoenix Capital have agreed to sell to Gibson all the shares they own in TEAC Corporation, or 157,447,000 shares, (54.4% of the issued and outstanding shares), at a price agreed between the parties of 31 JPY per share. . ."

This is equivalent to a total price of around $52,482,000. The press release continued: "This is yet another step in Gibson’s aim to become the largest music and sound business in the world with the ability to deliver an uncompromising entertainment experience to the customer, spanning musical instruments to the most innovative recording and audio/visual devices. Adding TEAC products to Gibson’s line-up allows the company to offer tailored products to cater to every taste and economic range for music lovers, and music creators, around the world."

TEAC, Tascam, and Esoteric will become part of Gibson’s Pro Audio division, which includes the Cerwin-Vega, KRK, and Stanton brands, as well as Gibson's strategic partner, Onkyo.

Source : stereophile[dot]com