Jabra owner GN branches into gaming gear with £944million SteelSeries acquisition
The personal audio experts are entering the lucrative gaming gear market.
Credit: SteelSeries
Gaming hardware brand SteelSeries has been acquired by Jabra owner GN Store Nord in a £944 million / DKK 8 billion deal expected to be closed in early 2022.
According to the press release from GN, the move will not bring changes to SteelSeries’s leadership, but will give GN a foothold in the very attractive gaming hardware market. René Svendsen-Tune, CEO of GN Audio, commented that the company had been looking to enter the gaming hardware space for some time before settling on SteelSeries, as the brand is “a perfect match in terms of technology and commercial capabilities, premium brand positioning, and growth ambitions”.
Ehtisham Rabbani, CEO of SteelSeries, similarly praised the acquisition, calling it a “perfect fit” due to both companies possessing a “drive for creating cutting-edge technology”.
Describing the purchase as GN gaining a strong position in the upscale gaming gear market, GN is expected to offer its expertise in driving growth while allowing SteelSeries to maintain its own brand identity and execution. GN expects “significant scaling opportunities and revenue synergies” for SteelSeries through utilising their global distribution footprint, so you might see more gaming peripherals in stores near you.
SteelSeries also acquired France-based A-Volute and U.S.-based KontrolFreek in 2020, solidifying their position in the console gear market beyond their famed premium gaming headsets, keyboards and mice.
