Samsung buying Bowers & Wilkins, other audio brands through Harman subsidiary

You may not be aware but Samsung owns several high-end audio brands, including Harman Kardon, Mark Levinson, Infinity, JBL, and AKG. These brands were acquired when Samsung bought Harman International in 2016 for $8 billion, in what was one of the biggest acquisitions in Samsung's history.

Harman continues to operate as an independent subsidiary of Samsung Electronics, and it's making a lot of money. It has continued to establish a secure footing in the premium audio and automotive segments. It appears that Samsung is now acquiring other high-end audio brands, including Bowers & Wilkins, through an acquisition made by Harman International.

A story went up on a Korean news site earlier today that Harman has acquired the audio division from Masimo Corporation for $300 million. The story was quickly pulled from the site, which suggests that perhaps an embargo was broken.

Masimo Corporation owns several well known audio brands including Bowers & Wilkins, Denon, Marantz, Polk Audio, Definitive Technology, Classé, HEOS, and Boston Acoustics.

Bowers & Wilkins is perhaps the most well known of these brands given its incredible history of making premium audio products such as speakers, headphones, and sound bars. Its audio systems are also equipped in high-end vehicles from BMW.

It's likely that an official confirmation of this deal would come soon and it won't be surprising. Masimo had announced in March last year that it's looking to spin off its consumer division, which includes its audio brands, and a sale of the business was also on the table. Masimo wanted to do this so that it could better focus on its professional healthcare and telehealth business.

This acquisition would bring more synergy to Harman's business as audio remains a core focus for the Samsung subsidiary, while also expanding its reach in the premium automotive sound solutions.