Hearing-aid firms Sivantos and Widex have agreed to merge in a deal valued at around €7bn.
Images: Sivantos brands, Signia, A&M and Rexton. Photo: courtesy of Sivantos Pte. Ltd.
The combined firm, which will be owned by Sivantos owner EQT funds, generates revenue of around €1.6bn per annum and employs more than 10,000 people across the globe.
Sivantos is the former hearing aid division of Siemens, and supplies hearing aids and complementary accessories to hearing care specialists and sales partners in over 120 countries. It employs around 5,950 people across all of its operations.
Widex provides hearing solutions to the customers in 105 countries. It has around 4,250 employees across manufacturing, operations, distribution and R&D divisions in 38 countries.
The Tøpholm and Westermann families founders and owners of Widex, will own the largest individual interest in the combined entity.
EQT Partners partner and EQT funds investment advisor Marcus Brennecke said: “Sivantos has developed immensely during EQT funds’ ownership and now the idea is to create a game changer for the future of hearing.”
Combined research and development (R&D) resources comprise of around 800 specialists in R&D centers in Singapore, Erlangen of Germany and Lynge of Denmark.
Sivantos developed Signia Nx hearing aid platform that resolves the own voice issue, while Widex developed Widex Evoke hearing aid that features advanced machine learning technology.
Sivantos provides its products under brands such as Signia, Siemens, Audio Service, Rexton and A&M. It also has online brands such as HearUSA, audibene and TruHearing.
Widex offers its products under Coselgi brand, as well as through local brands in certain markets.
Through wholesalers, the company supplies its products to governments, retail chains and independent retailers. It also has significant presence in the B2C market, which conducts sales through own retail and online channels directly to end-users.
The deal is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
Widex chairman Jan Tøpholm said: “I am confident that our employees, partners and customers will benefit from this merger as it will allow us to accelerate our efforts to pioneer innovation, quality, manufacturing and customer satisfaction.”