News

ShoreView Industries, Inc. has acquired MartinLogan Ltd., the Lawrence, KS–based manufacturer best known for its line of high-end electrostatic loudspeakers. Transaction terms have not been disclosed.

Gayle Sanders, MartinLogan's charismatic co-founder—and, until the acquisition, majority owner—will remain with the company as a consultant, according to The Lawrence Journal-World. The rest of MartinLogan's senior management and employees will remain in Lawrence, the paper reports.

ShoreView Industries is a Minneapolis-based private equity limited partnership that "invests in partnerships in established middle-market companies. ... ShoreView structures a variety of acquisition, recapitalization, and build-up transactions, typically in businesses with revenues ranging between $20 million and $150 million," according to an RSM EquiCo press release announcing the deal.

RSM EquiCo Capital Markets, the broker-dealer subsidiary of RSM EquiCo, initiated the transaction, led the negotiations, and acted as the exclusive financial advisor to MartinLogan, the press release states. "MartinLogan's cutting-edge technology will help ShoreView expand its presence in the high-performance audio market," said Randy Krauthamer, RSM's senior managing director. Having recently invested in Paradigm Electronics, Inc., this acquisition marks ShoreView's second transaction in the high-end home audio products industry this year."

Wait a minute! Did he say Paradigm? Sure enough, a little diligent research turned up a cached Commercial Finance Association report that we had completely missed last summer. Bundled among other transactions was "a $28 million credit facility to support the recapitalization of Paradigm Group (sponsored by ShoreView Industries), a manufacturer of high-end loudspeakers and audio-video components, sold under the Paradigm® and Anthem™ brand names."

ShoreView is obviously bullish on the high-end audio market's long-term profitability. Perhaps it sees the light at the end of a long, dark tunnel.