You might remember the rumors from less than two weeks ago that Japanese digital entertainment manufacturer Pioneer would be selling off its world-renowned DJ equipment business for close to $570 million. However, Reuters now reports that the deal is official and finalized, ending in a $550 million sale of a spin-off “Pioneer DJ” brand to KKR & Co., a private equity firm based in the U.S., known for picking up other companies’ noncore businesses in Japan.
Susuma Kotani, Chief Executive and President at Pioneer, says the DJ business was “highly profitable”, however the sale is being done in the name of “concentrating resources” to focus on Pioneer’s auto-related business. The effects of this sale on consumers have yet to be realized; what the receiving firm will do with the newly acquired assets is unclear, although hopefully the circumstances surrounding the sale mean we won’t necessarily see a decline in Pioneer’s 60% market share just yet.
[Source: Reuters]