Biamp announced its second acquisition in the past year, adding Audioprof Group International, parent company of Philadelphia-based Community Loudspeakers and Antwerp, Belgium-based Apart Audio from 3d Investors of Gent, Belgium.
Founded in 1968 by speaker design pioneer Bruce Howze, Community Loudspeakers offers “a broad range of premium speakers targeting demanding indoor and outdoor applications including commercial, leisure, stadiums and other large venues,” according to the joint announcement of the acquisition. [related]
The company introduced the L SERIES LVH-900 Beamforming Venue Horn at InfoComm 2019 last month in Orlando.
Apart Audio creates full signal path functional and commercial and leisure audio solutions for small and mid-size venues including retail, food service, education, and small offices. It offers an array of speakers, amplifiers, mixers, controllers and paging stations.
After establishing itself in Europe, Apart entered North America in 2018, meaning Biamp’s distribution system can provide a boost to that segment of the business.
“I am tremendously excited to complete this transaction,” said Biamp president, CEO and co-chairman Rashid Skaf in the joint announcement. “Building a comprehensive lineup of speakers has been a priority of mine as we move to position Biamp as a full-line provider of professional audiovisual solutions.
“Acquiring Apart Audio and Community Loudspeakers was my preferred route to accomplishing that quickly with incredibly strong and respected brands. The many products added to our portfolio give us powerful positions in several key growth markets for Biamp — most notably retail, hospitality, restaurants, stadiums, and outdoor venues. With this move, Biamp has clearly established itself as a leader in the pro AV market,” he said.
Building the Biamp Brand
The addition of Audioprof Group International comes just seven months after the company acquired Cambridge Sound Management.
In the hours after that deal in December 2018, Skaf told CI, “We’re trying to build solutions…I don’t necessarily want to be a speaker company. I want to be a company that delivers the best speakers to the markets we deliver to,” he says, pointing to meeting rooms, sound masking, paging as among those areas.
Community Loudspeakers and Apart Audio will join Biamp as product families within the company’s portfolio, with business functions gradually blending to form a single Biamp business, according to the announcement.
“I am thrilled that Community Loudspeakers and Apart Audio are joining the Biamp family,” said Apart Audio CEO Kris Vermuyten in the joint announcement.
“The great product complementarity and geographical fit strengthen my belief that we are now part of one of the strongest and most respected AV solutions providers and that we will be able to offer best in class solutions to our channel partners and end us
