The big are getting bigger in the hearing-aid industry, with GN Store Nord, parent of the GN ReSound Group, acquiring German hearing-instrument developer Interton for DKK 350-million ($56 million USD). GN Store Nord is a DKK 6-billion ($960 million USD) conglomerate based in Denmark. Wth its hearing instrument and audiologic diagnostic equipment businesses accounting for approximately half its revenue, GN is one of the four largest players in the global hearing-aid industry. Interton is a small (approximately $36-million USD annual revenue) manufacturer of hearing-aids that will continue for the time being as an independent subsidiary of the GN ReSound Group, maintaining the Interton brand in the German and U.S. markets where it is well known.
According to a GN ReSound press release, "Interton is strongly positioned in the US and German markets, in particular, where the company’s medium- and low-priced products will enhance GN’s profile as a provider of quality hearing instruments in all price categories. GN plans to retain Interton as an independent brand in order to complement GN’s existing brands Beltone and ReSound on the US and German markets as well as on a number of export markets." With standard components increasingly available and the gradual establishment of more rational global distribution channels, expect to see more of the dominant companies with strong financial clout consolidating their leadership of the hearing industry through acquision of smaller players with established brands. While Siemens has tended to rely on its own engineering prowess, it certainly has the global presence and deep corporate pockets to get into the acquisition game. Similarly, Oticon and Phonak are conglomerates with resources to grow through acquisitions. And if Sonic Innovations in the U.S. continues delivering strong financial performance, it will soon be in a position to enhance both its product portfolio and its bottom line through strategic acquisitions if it so chooses. Which all goes to say that the more things change the more they stay the same: insiders with a long history in the industry will remember that GN launched itself to leadership in the hearing-aid industry on the back of its acquisition of ReSound, which had been a highly successful American start-up company in the 1990s.
Posted by David at 10:57 AM on Oct 5, 2005 in INDUSTRY NEWS
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