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Sennheiser Adds Merging Technologies; Will Align With Neumann.Berlin

sennheiser neumann.berlin

Chalk it up to the list of strangely worded press releases, but acquisitions sometimes have to tread carefully because they are works in progress rather than completed deeds.

A joint announcement declares Germany’s Georg Neumann GmbH and Swiss digital audio specialist Merging Technologies will be working closer together — because both are now fully part of the Sennheiser group.

This cooperation, as the release explains, results from Sennheiser having taken over “entirely” the shares of Merging Technologies. Sennheiser had shares in the Swiss company and now makes a full purchase, in which financial details are not revealed. (Sennheiser is still a private, family-owned company — a remarkable achievement these days.) Sennheiser’s first move, post-acquisition, inspires closer “cooperation” between newly acquired Merging Technologies and Neumann.Berlin (already a part of the Sennheiser family).

The release says “the integration with Merging Technologies” will be part of Neumann’s growth strategy. Integration typically implies something more than “working together.”

Merging Technologies offers AD/DA solutions and digital audio workstations — as well as its pioneering software development for the AES-67 standard.

Neumann makes microphones, monitors and headphones for professional users (such as recording studios and broadcasters) but the release also calls out their “semi-professional” customer base. Semi-professionals seems an odd term, perhaps referring to the burgeoning mass of content creators (aka, influencers, bloggers, podcasters etc).

Nonetheless, the plan is to strengthen Neumann’s offering, particularly in the area of digital workstreams.
“…in order to provide our customers with holistic audio solutions in studio quality,” said Ralf Oehl, CEO of Georg Neumann GmbH, “Merging Technologies’ products and solutions are an excellent complement to the Neumann product portfolio. We are therefore very much looking forward to working together with the Merging team.”

The existing portfolio of the two companies will remain unchanged, according to the announcement. The first additional product of the “partnership” between Neumann.Berlin and Merging Technologies will be a Neumann audio interface that enables the integration of Neumann products into a digital infrastructure.

“Neumann.Berlin and Merging Technologies are a perfect match, and the collaboration opens up new opportunities for both parties,” said Claude Cellier, founder and CEO of Merging Technologies. “Both companies share a passion for excellence and a commitment to always set new standards in audio.”

Merging Technologies has a team of around 20 people who will continue to be located at the company’s site in Switzerland working closely with the Neumann team in Berlin.

“We are very pleased to welcome Merging’s employees as part of the Sennheiser Group,” adds Andreas Sennheiser, co-CEO of the Sennheiser Group. “As a family-owned company, we want to grow sustainably on the strength of our own resources in the coming years. To achieve this, we are investing significantly in our professional business.”

These are the facts: Sennheiser is indeed strengthening its pro business. Merging Technologies and Neumann are now in confirmed technical cooperation, which at this point Sennheiser wants to describe loosely without defining further structure. It’s a family business and public disclosure (and discretion) is always an option.

The winners from this triangulation of companies and resources are AV professionals who will benefit from further industry innovation.

More photos and release:
https://www.merging.com/news/press-releases/neumann-and-merging-technologies-join-forces

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