German entertainment technology developer Loewe has had a significant percentage of its business acquired by investment company Panthera.
The new owners – which comprise a group of investors including the two Munich-based entrepreneurs Constantin Sepmeier and Stefan Kalmund, former Apple and Bang & Olufsen executives – want to bring the Loewe brand to a wider, younger, design- and tech-savvy base of customers throughout Europe, Russia and China.
Co-investor, and former head of Apple Europe, Jan Gesmar-Larsen, in his capacity as Chairman of the Advisory Board, will be responsible for the strategic realignment together with current Loewe CEO Matthias Harsch. Gesmar- Larsen has extensive experience in management and board positions in many technology companies, including Apple, Dell and Bang & Olufsen.
“We want to develop home entertainment and digital lifestyle products to excite our customers with their design, ease of use and technology,” said Gesmar-Larsen.
Loewe CEO Matthias Harsch added: “With new generations of high-quality wireless TV and audio devices we will attract a wider audience going forward. Our customers will get a first taste of the new Loewe products at this year’s IFA.”
Alongside the new corporate head office in Munich, the existing development centres in Kronach and Hanover, as well as central business functions at the main site in Kronach, will remain in place. The assembly centre in Kronach, one of Europe’s most modern TV manufacturing plants, will be maintained for quality assurance. The trademarks, software developments and stock are transferred as major assets to Panthera GmbH and its newly founded subsidiary Loewe. The collaboration with Chinese technology supplier Hisense, which started in the summer of 2013, will be extended to create the perfect union of German design and engineering, with the latest technologies from Asia.
“This is the final piece of our restructuring jigsaw,” commented Loewe UK managing director James McConnell. “Following the?significant restructuring of our cost base and the strategic technology partnership with Hisense, we now have secured the necessary capital funding to build an exciting future for Loewe and our partners.”
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