Its been sold by the private equity investment firm that bought it in 2015
Pioneer DJ has been sold by owners KKR equity firm to Japanese company Noritsu for $606 million. The sale comes off the back of a change of corporation name last year to AlphaTheta, when Pioneer DJ said: “Our brands and brand names, including Pioneer DJ, will not be affected. We’re updating our corporate name to better reflect our values and vision. The change is not related to any merger, sale, or reorganization.”
As expected, Pioneer DJ has released a further statement on the sale declaring ‘business as usual’, saying: “Our business, operations, brands, including brand names, will not be affected. We will continue contributing to the music industry with our innovative products and superior service through Pioneer DJ, rekordbox, KUVO, TORAIZ, Pioneer Professional Audio brands.”
Pioneer DJ’s new owners currently manufacture printing and scanning equipment as well as some pharmaceutical goods, so while it’s not related to DJing, they’re likely to have extensive access to manufacturing lines and resources for Pioneer DJ’s growing hardware line. Pioneer DJ currently owns a 60% share of the DJ market, so any major shifts like this are likely to make an impact in some form. How that plays out, we’ll have to wait and see. Due to the very nature of private equity firms, who prioritise turning a profit over all else, it’s probably a good thing for Pioneer DJ’s R&D department to make the move.
With the DJM-V10 announcement and a new version of rekordbox on the way, big things are clearly happening at Pioneer DJ. 2020 should be an interesting year for the DJ behemoth.
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