By Lam Seng Fatt
In a surprising corporate move, Arcam, the British manufacturer of hi-fi and AV products based in Cambridge, has been bought over by Harman International Industries.
Harman was bought over by Samsung last year, which means Arcam is now indirectly owned by the South Korean conglomerate.
News of this development has started to filter out into the market following a note to Arcam distributors and dealers from Arcam’s Director Sales & Marketing, Scott Campbell.
In his note dated July 14, Scott said: “Samsung, one of the world’s leading connected technology companies and owner of a portfolio of legendary audio brands including AKG, Harman Kardon, Infinity, JBL, Lexicon, Mark Levinson and Revel.
“Arcam and HARMAN share a like-minded passion for bringing the highest quality sound into people’s lives and we believe bringing the power of the two companies together will benefit the partnership we have with you.
“HARMAN recognizes the value and potential of Arcam’s people, technologies, and brands, and we expect the combination will deliver growth opportunities and benefits to our customers. We believe this is an unprecedented opportunity to grow Arcam’s engineering capabilities and extend its product reach into new markets.
“Charlie Brennan and the current management team will remain in Cambridge, UK and become part of HARMAN’s Lifestyle Audio division.
“There is no plan to make any change to Arcam’s U.S. distribution through the Sound Organisation. TSO will continue to be Arcam’s sales channel in the U.S.A.
“There is no doubt in my mind that this new partnership will accelerate exciting innovations that will benefit our brands, you and your customers and I look forward to growing our relationship for years to come. Please do reach out if you have questions.”
