Corsair pops the question, acquires Scotland-based Simple Audio
Scotland-based Simple Audio announced today that it has been acquired by American computer component maker Corsair. The five-year-old audio firm is best known in Europe for its networked set-top receivers, which are capable of sharing music from PCs, Macs, TVs, iPods and MP3 players. In an effort to expand its reach, Simple Audio hopes that this multi-million dollar deal will help bring its products stateside sometime this year. While there's no word how many doubloons Corsair shelled out, the company stated that it had been eyeing Simple Audio since 2010 and felt that it was the right time to make a move. To take a closer look at this acquisition, click through to the press release after the break.
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Simple Audio acquired in multi-million dollar deal
Simple Audio®, a networked audio company based in Scotland, today announced that it has been acquired by leading US-based PC enthusiast hardware company Corsair® in a multi-million dollar deal. The deal marks another positive chapter in the Simple Audio story and puts the company in a strong position to extend its reach globally.
Simple Audio's world-class engineering and product development teams will continue to develop and market the company's range of music streaming products from its offices in Glasgow, Scotland.
Simple Audio released its first range of networked audio products last year into UK and European markets where the young company quickly built a strong reputation for superior sound quality and exceptional product design.
Peter Murphy, Founder and CEO of Simple Audio commented:
"When I started Simple Audio the aim was to make high quality digital music accessible to more people. Now the company is in a much stronger position to make this a reality. Corsair's extensive resources and worldwide distribution infrastructure will undoubtedly help Simple Audio achieve its ambitions, including plans to launch our products in the USA and Asia during 2013. We're delighted to be a part of Corsair and very excited about the future."
Corsair, with half a billion dollars in annual revenue, has built an excellent reputation for designing and manufacturing innovative, high-performance components and peripherals for PC enthusiasts and gamers.
Andy Paul, President and CEO of Corsair commented:
"We have followed Simple Audio as a potential investment opportunity since 2010 and we are extremely impressed by their vision of HD digital music in the post-iPod era. Their high quality, high-performance Roomplayer system demystifies and simplifies the process of playing digital music throughout the home. We believe now is the right time to invest in the fast-growing digital music space and are delighted to help Simple Audio bring their incredible vision into reality and to music lovers around the world."
Simple Audio received investment in the early stages of its growth from the Edinburgh based investor syndicate Par Equity and the Scottish Co-Investment Fund from the Scottish Investment Bank, a division of Scottish Enterprise. This funding was paramount in helping to support the company's product development plans.
