European Custom Installer

Sound United, the parent company of Denon, Polk Audio and Marantz, among others, announces the acquisition of the Onkyo consumer audio division-- owner of the Onkyo, Pioneer, Pioneer Elite and Integra brands.

Financial details of the deal are not available.

“We are thrilled by the opportunity to add the venerable Onkyo and Pioneer brands to our portfolio. Sound United is one of the leading dedicated providers of premium audio/video products, and we believe the combined businesses will bring unrivaled innovation and sound performance to our consumers and channel partners,” the company says.“ Upon completion of the transaction, we will work tirelessly with the consumer audio division of Onkyo Corporation to ensure a seamless transition into the Sound United family so that all employees, customers and channel partners benefit from the enhanced breadth and depth of the new organisation.”

Google drops something of a bombshell at the 2019 I/O conference-- the search giant is phasing out the Works With Nest smart home program in favour of a Works With Google Assistant framework.

According to Google, the move brings tighter privacy regulation, since it will only allow data sharing between a selection of hand-picked partners. However it really the result of a restructuring of Nest, since what was once an standalone entity (if one under the vast Alphabet umbrella) has been folded into the Google hardware division, something established by a rebrand to "Google Nest."

“Nest is a long-established brand,” Google VP Rishi Chandra tells Variety. “We want Google Nest to represent the helpful home.”

SnapAV and Control4 announce a "definitive merger agreement"-- one seeing SnapAV buying all Control4 shares in an all-cash agreement worth $680 million. In other words, it is less a merger and more, well, an outright acquisition.

According to the two companies, the deal makes a "highly complementary combination," bringing a one-stop shop with a complete portfolio of custom smart home, control and automation solutions. It also creates a single company with over 1200 employees, market-leading solutions, "exceptional" interoperability and channel platform, dealer-first programs, global distribution and financial resources to deliver value.

All 2019 Samsung Smart TVs and "select" 2018 TV models with a firmware update in over 100 countries are getting the new Apple TV app, together with AirPlay 2 support.

“For the last decade, Samsung has been at the forefront of offering the broadest selection of content available to consumers on our Smart TV platform.” the company says. “As the first TV manufacturer to integrate the Apple TV app on a Smart TV platform, Samsung continues to offer our customers incredible value and access to the Apple TV app experience on the largest screens available today.”

American audio brand KLH announces a European expansion by way of a partnership with Irish distributor TBM Solution providing sales, marketing, inventory, logitistics and after-sale dealer and distributor support.

The company has a warehouse in Dublin, Ireland, together with a ground team of specialist throughout Europe to work closely with dealers and distributors. In addition, the two companies have created a multi-lingual European KLH website.

KLH is perhaps best known for the Model Nine full-range electrostatic speaker from the 1960s. It was acquired in 2017 by David P. Kelley, former president of global sales and board member for Klipsch, before a CEDIA Expo 2018 launch. Now KLH is an all-new venture for Kelley and a team of former Klipsch and loudspeaker industry execs.