Marshall may be up for sale again for the second time in 18 months – but this time for €800m
The most iconic name in guitar amps could be about to have yet another new owner. Reports claim that the owners of the Marshall Group – which was created when Marshall bluetooth headphone and speaker licensee Zound Industries bought a controlling stake in the company in 2023, and then renamed itself – is speaking to banks about a sale.
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According to Betaville’s report, the Swedish-based conglomerate is in discussions with investment bank giant Goldman Sachs on “strategic options” – including selling the entire company for the sizeable sum of around €800 Million.
The current Marshall Group encompasses Marshall amplifiers, the Marshall speakers and headphones, Marshall Records, Marshall Live Agency, Marshall Studio, Natal Drums, Urbanears, and adidas Headphones.
This merger left the Marshall family with a 24pc stake in the business which was started by the late Jim Marshall in 1962. Other major shareholders in the company include Scandinavian venture capital firms such as Zenith Venture Capital. Private investors hold significant stakes as well.
Image: Eleanor Jane
Sources familiar with the matter state that Marshall Group generates an EBITDA of €80 million from revenues of €400 million. Thus with 10 times the EBITDA, an expected price of sale could be €800 million. A report published earlier this year confirmed that just 5% of the company’s revenue came from the sale of guitar amps.
No indication as to why the owners of the Marshall Group would be considering selling so soon after the merger – the company’s new CEO Jeremy de Maillard was bullish about the future of the wider Marshall brand earlier this year, saying after the earnings announcement:
“It has been a historic year for everyone at Marshall. We delivered strong growth and profitability for the third year in a row while successfully integrating into the Marshall Group. We are unlocking the potential of the Marshall brand while staying true to its legacy and investing into the future.”
Marshall continues to be a big player in the speaker and headphone game (image: Marshall)
De Millard also promised to invest in Marshall’s music-making products, and in a separate interview with Guitar World, de Maillard promised that the company would “over-invest” in the amp side of the business in order to help the brand catch up with the modern requirements of guitar players.
“We don’t have all of the products that the guitarist today expects of us, when it comes to digital amplifiers, or digital products, in general,” he explained. “And here we are over-investing to catch up. We’ve been behind and now we want to catch up.”
De Millard promised a swathe of new products over the following 12-24 months, and while nothing has been revealed as yet, it’s unknown what impact the sale of the company – should it occur – would have on these plans.
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
