Press Releases

Bang & Olufsen divests ICEpower in a management buyout supported by Industri Development

April 6, 2016 at 2:04 AM CEST
Supporting Materials:

As announced in Company announcement 14.26, Bang & Olufsen a/s ("Bang & Olufsen") initiated a review to identify future ownership alternatives for ICEpower a/s (“ICEpower”), in accordance with the strategy to reduce complexity and focus on the consumer activities.

Today, Bang & Olufsen has signed an agreement to divest 100 per cent of the shares in ICEpower in a management buyout supported by Industri Udvikling. ICEpower will continue to provide class D audio solutions to manufacturers of professional and consumer audio products, including Bang & Olufsen. The ICEpower management team and Industri Udvikling aim to develop ICEpower further and consolidate its position as a leader in the audio engineering market.

The brand licensing business area including the right to use the Bang & Olufsen brand name on selected products e.g. for embedded audio in laptops and mobile phones, has historically accounted for a significant part of ICEpower’s earnings. Over the last 12 months, as the licensing business has become a focus area for Bang & Olufsen, all licensing activities related to the Bang & Olufsen brand have been transitioned to Bang & Olufsen.

The enterprise value received by Bang & Olufsen is DKK 32 million and the free cash flow impact is expected to be DKK 23 million. As part of the transaction, Bang & Olufsen is entitled to a potential earn-out payment dependent on the future performance of ICEpower. As a result of the transaction, Bang & Olufsen expects to book a non-recurring, non-cash accounting loss of DKK 31 million in the fourth quarter of the 2015/16 financial year, which will be recognised in discontinued operations.

The divestment does not impact the financial outlook for 2015/16.

 

Ole Andersen                                                                Tue Mantoni

Chairman of the Board                                                 President and CEO

 

For further information, please contact:

Investors: Claus Højmark Jensen, tel: +45 9684 1251

Investor contact

Cristina Rønde Hefting
Head of Investor Relations
+45-41537303
crrh@bang-olufsen.dk
 
Major Shareholder Announcements should be sent directly to
major-shareholder@bang-olufsen.dk
 

Press contact

Marie Elbæk
Global communications
+45 60 21 25 42
Press@bang-olufsen.dk
 

Other enquiries

For all non-PR or non-IR related enquiries, e.g. advertising and HR related questions,
please contact Bang & Olufsen’s main office at:
+45 9684 1122