Denon and Marantz to merge (1 Viewer)

[Brian Corr]

http://www.tvinsite.com/twice/index....y=breakingNews

 

[ColinM]

So, Denon's remotes will get better...

 

[John Garcia]

WOW that's a pretty big deal, if it's for real.

 

[Russ_K]

It's true, this was taken from The Wall Street Journal:

Marantz Japan, Denon to Merge

Marantz Japan Inc. and Denon Ltd., two midsize Japanese manufacturers of audiovisual equipment, said Thursday they will merge operations in May under a joint holding company. The firms said the merger will help them improve efficiency of financial and production resources. They expect synergies from the merger, and hope to take a leading position in the global market in home-networking operations, they said. The joint holding company, which will hold a 100% stake in Marantz Japan and Denon, will list on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on May 13, Marantz Japan said. One share in the holding company will be exchanged for one Marantz Japan share, while 10,000 shares in the holding company will be exchanged for 4416 Denon shares, Marantz Japan said. There are currently 22.7 million shares in Marantz Japan in circulation, and 120.0 million shares in unlisted Denon. U.S. investment firm Ripplewood Group, which holds a 98.0% stake in Denon, is expected to be a major shareholder in the holding company. Ripplewood Group is part of Ripplewood Holdings L.L.C.

Updated March 7, 2002 2:39 a.m. EST

 

[Andy Anderson]

So, Denon's remotes will get better...

...and Marantz's manuals will get better...

 

[Kevin C Brown]

Wow. So will *their* next pre/pro be the AV9200, or the AVP-8003?

 

[Cary P]

Wow, that's pretty big news to me - and raises a lot of questions.

I've always preferred the look, feel, and sound of Marantz' products greatly over Denon, despite the recent quality control issues with Marantz. I'm wondering if both companies will continue to offer separate lines of receivers and DVD players.

Then there's the SACD vs. DVD-Audio issue. I know Marantz has been a big proponent of the SACD format, while Denon has yet to release a SACD player. I was greatly looking forward to the upcoming SA-8260 multichannel SACD player from Marantz announced at CES. I hope it doesn't get shelved.

I was also hoping that Marantz would come out with a new THX Ultra 2 pre-pro to replace the aging AV-9000. Who knows what will happen now.

It will be interesting to see how this develops, as I know both brands have a lot of fans on this forum.

Cary

 

[TheLongshot]

According to Jeff Talmadge in his chat on AVS forum, they will continue to operate like seperate companies. Reportedly, there is a press release on the Denon site, but I haven't found it yet...

Jason

 

[Alex Prosak]

Jeff provided a link to Denon News on AVS site but indicated that the announcement wouldn't be posted until sometime later today.

 

[John Garcia]

...and Marantz's manuals will get better...

LOL! That would be a very good thing. Their manuals are pretty sad.

 

[Wolf Jenkins]

So wait - Marantz & Denon is going to be a majority owned US company? Wow. Ripplewood's been busy.

 

[Will]

So, Denon's remotes will get better ... and Marantz's manuals will get better

Sounds like the old joke where everybody wishes the baby inherits its brains from its intelligent father and its good looks from its beautiful mother, rather than vice versa.

 

[Thomas_Berg]

i really hope Marantz's reputation for musicality will not suffer due to this merging. yes Denon makes a great product, but IMO they just do not stand up to Marantz music-wise (which is my main preference).
i'm wondering if we'll see any "merged" products across both lines. i also wonder if this will bring with it any price adjustments on either line.

 

[Wayne Ernst]

i'm wondering if we'll see any "merged" products across both lines.

I think buying a product with the name DenRantz on it would be a little scarry.

 

[Chip E]

Here's what DenonJeff said yesterday:
Folks,
Before things get out of wack on what has been reported, with some errors, we will have an official press release on the site link below later today.
http://www.dba-pr.com/clients/denon/contents.htm
What I can say is that Denon and Marantz will NOT be sharing R&D, Sales & Marketing or Distribution.
Regards,
__________________
Jeff Talmadge
Product Manager
DENON Electronics (USA), Inc.

 

[Philip Hamm]

This reminds me of the recent partnership between Kawasaki and Suzuki. I would expect that they wouldn't say it now, the products will merge.

 

[MatthewJ S]

Will it still be as easy to get a great deal on Denon on-line and as hard to get great a deal on Marantz?

If they're not going to fuse redundant parts of the buisnesses,why merge?

 

[Aslam Imran]

I think buying a product with the name DenRantz on it would be a little scarry

I think buying a product with the name MARON would be equally scary

 

[MatthewJ S]

What about "Maron"?

 

[Aslam Imran]

Cos its only one letter off MORON