SteelSeries, the gaming peripherals manufacturer, is being acquired by GN, the manufacturer of audio equipment company Jabra. Danish hearing aids and headphones company GN is purchasing SteelSeries from Nordic private equity firm Axcel for roughly $1.2 billion, according to reports.
GN has acquired SteelSeries
SteelSeries is a gaming peripheral company based in Denmark that was founded in 2001. With a large number of sophisticated peripherals designed for gamers, the brand has grown a reputation. GN is undoubtedly aware of SteelSeries’ Arctis headset line, which has become a popular choice among gamers.
According to the announcement, GN was attracted by SteelSeries’ “growth profile and margin structure,” which made it a “new growth engine.” GN is dedicated to investing in the sector and predicts that the gaming hardware market will “continue to grow in the mid-term at around 7–8% per year.” Furthermore, GN thinks, SteelSeries is expected to have “good growth in revenue and EBITA” this year.
SteelSeries will operate under the same name
SteelSeries will be sold under the same name, both companies agree on this. According to the CEO of SteelSeries, Ehtisham Rabbani, the brand will continue to manufacture gaming peripherals.
He also stated that SteelSeries will “be run by the same leadership team and organization that’s driving it now.”
The deal will affect 350 SteelSeries employees, 80 of them are software developers. GN is known for its premium headphones called Jabra and the firm has 6500 employees.
René Svendsen-Tune, GN Audio CEO: “We have for some time searched for the right way for GN to enter the very interesting gaming market, being keenly interested in the ‘high-end’ segment.”
It’s unclear whether SteelSeries will focus more on headsets following the acquisition, but it’s difficult to conceive of the company’s investments in things like mice, keyboards, and controllers suddenly vanishing. The acquisition of SteelSeries is anticipated to be completed by the beginning of 2022 but it is pending regulatory approval.
