Fine Sounds SpA CEO Mauro Grange and McIntosh president Charlie Randall, along with two European investment firms, are moving to purchase Fine Sounds Group, which includes Sonus faber, Audio Research Corporation, Wadia Digital and Sumiko.
In Australia the McIntosh brand has been witnessing a resurgence since distribution was moved to Melbourne based Synergy.
It’s been a bumpy ride for McIntosh Labs who make high-performance preamps and processors, in Australia the brand suffered when it was distributed by Castel whose primary business was appliances and not high end sound gear.
In the latest evolution of the brand the management of the most-recent parent company, Fine Sounds Group, is acquiring McIntosh and other leading audio brands in an LBO.
Fine Sounds owned Sonus faber, Audio Research Corporation, Wadia Digital and Sumiko when it acquired McIntosh from D+M (formerly D&M Holdings) in 2012.
Quadrivio, an investment management company based in Milan, has owned the company since 2008.
The group of audio companies together comprised Fine Sounds SpA.
Overnight the CEO of that group, Mauro Grange, along with McIntosh president Charlie Randall said that they were set to buy out Fine Sounds Group in partnership with LBO France and Yarpa.
The parties involved in the acquisition say the buyout will facilitate greater opportunities for global collaborations for the group’s brands in the areas of product development, marketing, distribution and finance.
After the transaction is complete, the company headquarters will move from Milan to New York City with Grange serving as Fine Sounds CEO and Randall serving as COO and president of McIntosh.
CE Pro said that since joining the Fine Sounds Group in 2009 Grange had the goal of creating a dynamic group of luxury, high-performance A/V brands. Forming a relationship with Randall after the 2012 acquisition of McIntosh, the two dedicated themselves to building the combined company into a leader in the consumer electronics industry.
“When Charlie and I met, there was instant chemistry,” recalls Grange. “We both had the same vision for the future – merging Fine Sounds and McIntosh in order to create a leading group of luxury lifestyle brands.”
He continues, “When the opportunity presented itself to buy Fine Sounds back from Quadrivio, it was a dream come true for us both. Thanks to our partnership with LBO France and Yarpa-two of Europe’s leading private equity firms-we can now fast-track our plans for accelerated global growth and a commanding presence in high-end audio.”
Roberto D’Angelo, CEO of Yarpa, and Philippe Guerin, director, LBO France, add that under the leadership of Grange and Randall, the Fine Sounds family of brands should flourish.
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