In a move that will come as a surprise to many, Midas and Klark Teknik, the UK-based brands owned by Bosch Communications Systems, have been acquired by the Music Group, writes Dave Robinson. This newly formed hodling company owns the Behringer brand as well as a number of other associated companies. It is managed by Uli Behringer and Michael Deeb
The sale of Midas and Klark Teknik is part of an asset deal and an agreement to this effect was signed on 8 December 2009. The sale is subject to regulatory approval, while acquisition price and terms have not been disclosed. The deal is scheduled to be completed by 31 January 2010.
Currently 106 associates work for Midas and Klark Teknik. According to the statement issued by Midas/Klark Teknik: “All [106] will be transferred to the Music Group. The Midas and Klark Teknik brands will be continued.”
Robert Mulatz, senior VP of Bosch Communications Systems, admits that the brands did not really fit comfortably within the Bosch portfolio: “Midas and Klark Teknik have always epitomised the highest possible performance and reliability in the mixing console and signal processing markets. Within the professional audio business of Bosch this niche market has not been defined as a core business area due to its size and specific requirements. We believe that in the Music Group we have found both the passion and the financial ability needed to grow Midas and Klark Teknik. Among all potential buyers that have been screened, we have selected the Music Group as the best fit.”
Uli Behringer, chairman of the Music Group sees the arrangement as a two-way street: “I am thrilled… to join with John Oakley and his team in taking these legendary brands forward. I have immense respect for the dedication to quality, performance and customer service that this team has shown consistently over the years. While we plan to invest considerable resources and support to these brands, we also look forward to learning from the achievements of their engineers and working with them to get Behringer to a new level.”
Music Group CEO Michael Deeb confirms this: “Midas and Klark Teknik are at the very pinnacle of their market segment. They address a very unique [sic] client base and fulfilment requirement and have a very different sales channel from our current core business. They will continue to operate autonomously under the leadership of John Oakley. However, Midas and Klark Teknik will have full access to the group’s extensive resources and advanced automated system platforms in areas such as product development and lifecycle management, supply chain, logistics, decision support and finance.”
Alex Cooper, Midas director of console engineering, added: “It has always been a challenge to achieve the very best performance at a price that the market can afford. The temptation is to cut corners, but that has never been, and will never be the Midas way. I am convinced that working with the Music Group will provide us with advantages that will help us maintain our high standards for the long term.”
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