As I often say about my personal life “There’s never a dull moment around here.” Maybe that’s a big of an overshare for rAVe readers. Regardless, it’s true not only of my personal life but my professional one as well. I recently wrote about seeing the signs in advance of one of my biggest dealer […]
Not long ago I wrote about what happens when your customer gets bought, which is something I have a lot of experience dealing with over the years. Acquisitions and buyouts happen, and I’ve done this long enough that I have a sense for when they’re imminent. There have been quite a few recently in my […]
Mark Twain said, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.” Although lesser known, my grandfather said, “If you live long enough, you get to see it all come around again.” I’ve seen a lot happen over the years. Just to give you some idea of the pace of change over the years: When I […]
As 2022 gets underway, one can’t help but reflect on how transformative the past two years have been. The AV industry endured pandemic-driven changes that nobody could have anticipated. With the benefit of hindsight, it’s becoming clear that our industry is not only changing, but it’s becoming smaller (which is good, and I’ll explain why […]
Today, Polycom announced the signing of an agreement to acquire Obihai Technology, Inc., a San Jose-based innovator in VoIP audio solutions. Obihai Technology develops software and hardware for VoIP endpoints. The strategic addition of its software and development team allows Polycom to compete more effectively in the global voice market and broadens Polycom’s portfolio to […]
Control4 today announced that it has acquired Ihiji, a provider of remote management services. Control4 says that by combining two industry-leading network and device management solutions — BakPak from Control4 (after Control4’s 2016 acquisition of Pakedge) and Invision from Ihiji — into one unified service platform, Control4 will provide offer integrators a unified cloud-based system […]
Legrand (parent company for Middle Atlantic, Luxul, ON-Q and Vantage) today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Milestone AV Technologies, the parent company of AV brands including Da-Lite, Vaddio, Sanus, Projecta and Chief, which makes projector mounts, projection screens, PTZ cameras, equipment racks and AV furniture for both the HomeAV and […]
Thinklogical, LLC last week announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Belden Inc. Thinklogical is a portfolio company of Riverside Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm and is a manufacturer of KVM, video, audio and computer peripheral signal extension and switching solutions. The transaction is expected to close in second quarter of 2017, subject to […]
PSA Security Network announced today that it has acquired USAV, a team of professional audio-visual (ProAV) integrators. USAV’s affiliate CI Edge, a buying group designed to support middle market commercial technology integrators, was also acquired as part of the transaction. This is big, big news. Finally, commercial AV and security come together. Sure, been playing […]
Little-known Hoylu (a public Swedish company) has announced the acquisition of Huddlewall from its partner Scalable Display Technologies, Inc. Included in the transaction is a sales team of four team-members in Boston, U.S., as well as customer base, intellectual property and trademarks, current book of business and prospects. The total purchase price is estimated to USD $800,000. The sellers will receive […]
Barco announced today that it has finalized an agreement with U.S.-based lighting company ETC to sell its lighting company, High End Systems, based in Austin, Tex. Barco says the transaction is part of Barco’s drive to step up focus on performance and streamline its business portfolio. High End Systems has offices in the United States and employs 60 employees, primarily […]
The August 15, 2016 announcement by Dayton-headquartered STRATACACHE of its acquisition of Scala, the high-profile digital signage software supplier is good news for end users, providers of the place-based media and the industry at large. STRATACACHE operates over 1.5 million software and appliance installations for more than 425 end user organizations including Wal-Mart, McDonalds, Lowes, […]
Barco has purchased Florida-based Medialon. Medialon is known as a control system company that’s 100 percent cloud-based. “For us, Barco has the piece we were missing — a sales channel,” Medialon North American Sales Manager, Eric Cantrell, told rAVe today. He continued, “It’s been an interesting several months. We are profitable and this gives Barco […]
My companies have been acquired twice and I have attempted numerous acquisitions. While I don’t have the experience of an investment banker like GE or SilverLake, I have been down many roads that few have the opportunity to travel, and it’s nothing like you think. Yes, there is almost always human impact because maximizing profits […]
Almo Pro A/V today announced it is acquiring certain assets and assuming certain liabilities of International Audio Visual Inc. (IAVI), a global distributor. This will make Almo Corporation, celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, the largest privately-held professional audio video distributor in the industry and a $1.2B corporation. It also makes Almo a global company […]
Sensory Technologies just announced the acquisition of AV Solutions, a division of Toshiba America Business Solutions. Together, the companies will consist of over 115 employees with extensive experience in helping clients connect with their customers globally through impactful, virtual meetings, improve their internal communication, accelerate their decision making, and deliver memorable, immersive experiences. “We see […]
Diversified announced today the acquisition of Technical Innovation of Atlanta, Ga. Technical Innovation is a nationally recognized presentation technology, critical space and broadcast solutions. In addition, the geographic footprint and service offering of both organizations are significantly expanded. The expanded company will offer an even broader spectrum of technology and media solutions backed by one […]
AMETEK has announced that it has completed two acquisitions: Brookfield Engineering and ESP/SurgeX. “Brookfield Engineering and ESP/SurgeX are excellent acquisitions and strong additions to our Electronic Instruments Group. These businesses will allow us to expand our presence in laboratory instrumentation and power protection, two attractive growth platforms,” comments Frank S. Hermance, AMETEK Chairman and Chief […]
HARMAN today announced the acquisition of Melbourne, Australia-based SM Pro Audio and its incorporation into the HARMAN Professional Division as an innovation hub for a wide range of pro audio and musical instrument (MI) technologies across HARMAN’s professional product brands. According to Blake Augsburger, president, HARMAN Professional Division, the depth of innovation and quality of […]
Greetings, friends and followers! My apologies for the various obligations (professional and personal), side-projects, and secret adventures which have kept me away from these pages for the past week. After a weekend off the grid at an undisclosed location I’m refreshed and ready to dive into all of the news in AV-land on this, the […]
In a surprise move, today Harman announced that it will acquire control company AMX for $365 million, pending regulatory approvals. AMX was previously owned by The Duchossois Group, a privately held investment firm. HARMAN already owns many well-known AV brands, including JBL, Crown, dbx and others, though most were primarily focused on audio. The purchase […]