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Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Pioneer Confirms Sale of DJ Business
Japanese electronics maker Pioneer announced on Tuesday that its selling its DJ business to a private equity firm KKR & Co LP for around 59 billion yen ($550 million).
While the majority of the company will be sold to US firm KKR, Pioneer will maintain a 14.95 percent voting stake in the DJ brand.
Last month, Reuters reported that Pioneer was in the final stages of selling its DJ business but the company issued a press release denying the news. Some believe the statement was ambiguous though: as it didn’t rule out the possibility of a future sale.
As previously reported, Pioneer is selling off its DJ business to focus on its automobile electronic business, which it believes has potential for expansion in emerging markets and increasingly connected cars.
During a media briefing held in Tokyo on Tuesday, Chief Executive and President Susumu Kotani explained the sale:
“We realized we wouldn’t be able to invest in the DJ business so it would be better to spin it off and grow it independently.”
He also said the DJ business was highly profitable and running an operating margin of nearly 20 percent on sales of 21.6 billion yen in the year ending March 31, writes Reuters.
Related: How to Mix Harmonically on Pioneer CDJs
