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THIEL Aquired By Private Equity Firm
In what seems like a growing trend among A/V manufacturers, THIEL is being acquired by a private equity firm. The firm intends to expand THIEL's engineering department and keep most existing employees in place. They will push to improve product development and marketing processes and expand product lineup. THIEL will continue to produce high-end products, but also focus on distributed audio and architectural speakers.
Discuss "THIEL Aquired By Private Equity Firm" here. Read the article.
Banned
ridikas is off the scale
In all honesty, Thiel has run it's course. They haven't made anything good in close to a decade. Time to close shop and move on...
Audioholic Field Marshall
dkane360 should be listened to
Right, because a slump is a reason to shut down a business.Originally Posted by ridikas
Audioholic General
shadyJ is off the scale
Why does this private equity business have to remain anonymous? That, to me, is not a good sign.
monkish54 (11-29-2012)
Senior Audioholic
cschang should be listened to
That definitely makes you wonder.
-curtis
monkish54 (11-29-2012)
Supreme Audioholics Overlord
gene should be listened to
I was wondering the same thing. Very odd.
monkish54 (11-29-2012)
Audioholic Spartan
gmichael should be listened to
Something similar happened to Altec Lancing a couple years back. A year later their HQ was moved from PA to CA. I go by their old HQ twice a day. It's sad to see the parking lot so empty.
The Surgeon General has determined that, time spent listening to music is not deducted from one's lifespan
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Audioholic Overlord
mtrycrafts should be listened to
Mitt's firm?
monkish54 (11-29-2012)
Audiophyte
Churlish1 is gaining some recognition
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It is sad.
That seems to be what happens when private equity firms take over.
I've been with 2 different companies who had been purchased and the end result is that the intellectual properties are sold off, facilities closed, profit taking is done and employees are left out to dry.
Sometimes it's a quick death and sometimes it seems to linger forever as the new management strives to eek out every profit margin possible to the detriment of the Brand.
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) bought one of the firms I worked at and they simply dismembered the 5 divisions over a period of 6 years.
Management told us not to worry, we were good, yada yada so on and on.
In all honesty, sometimes the best thing that comes out of it is the true talent from the organization moves out into the market and we get a new innovative company ala' Totem or Tekton…there seems to be so many of these smaller firms emerging that are simply very talented individuals who won't be denied. There is something to say about these types of smaller, more market responsive boutiques, populated by entrepreneurs who strike out on their own.
carpe diem to them
Junior Audioholic
SnowmaNick is gaining some recognition
It does if that means the price for the goods has dropped below the average variable costs to produce them.
I don't think that was the reason with Thiel though. They have several very good products in their stable currently.
The best path forward that I see for Thiel is the PE firm getting it prettied up for sale to another conglomerate (maybe Fine Sounds wants another speaker brand).
As for running a firm, well, that is not what PE's do. So, if I were working for Thiel, I'd be a more than a little concerned right now.
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