“Apple is said to be negotiating to acquire Loewe AG, a manufacturer and distributor of televisions, audio components and integrated entertainment systems, with a final decision expected to be announced by the end of this week,” Daniel Eran Dilger reports for AppleInsider.
“Word of the negotiations was exclusively revealed to AppleInsider, and although the offer has yet to be accepted, a source claims that Loewe ‘has been advised by its financial advisor to accept the offer and a final decision is scheduled to be announced internally before 18 May 2012,'” Dilger reports. “This person said Apple is confidentially offering 87.3 million euros (about $112 million U.S.), a slight premium over the firm’s last closing share price of 4.519 euros (giving it a market cap of 58.79 million euros or $76 million U.S.). Loewe’s primary shareholders currently include Sharp (28.83 percent) and LaCie (11.17 percent).”
Dilger reports, “Loewe, which entered the TV market in 1929, now employes around 1,000 workers worldwide in 50 countries, although it has worked to keep the production of its premium, minimalist TV sets in “made in Germany” despite difficult economic conditions.”
More info and video in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Note: Find out more about the Loewe Assist Media app for iPad hers.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “Vesa” and “Dan K.” for the heads up.]
This is awesome. Loewe is the Apple of TV’s, Bluray players etc. I was in a store the other day and was admiring the latest Loewe Individual Bluray and was thinking that Apple should buy Loewe. Design wise, they’d be a perfect fit… Can’t wait!!
Can’t go wrong with German engineering. Smart move.
Now Apple seems much more SIRI-ous
about the television revolution. This definitely sounds
like a real fit for Apple – engineering, design, background history and shareholders like Sharp. Sharp move Apple.
Hope its a done deal by Friday.
Best News all month.
Now this might finally make some sense — even though those news are not certain.
Two of my favourite electronics companies… And with such a similar focus on great design, and top quality stuff… This genuinely excites me!
It’s a match that makes perfect sense!
funniest part is that its pocket change for apple.
Very cool news if true.
After reviewing images of Loewe products, slap an Apple logo on their stuff, and everyone would be happy. Nice fit in deed.
Loewe is the Rolls Royce in TVs and more. I bought a Loewe Aconda HDTV (CRT, not Flatscreen) and it was the most beautiful picture for its day. This was just before HDMI and DVI and getting the newer Blu-ray Players would not work.
At the time, this behemoth 38″ TV in Piano Black and cost me about $5,500. I just traded it in for a Samsung TV because I could no longer afford their prices.
This would merge the #1 Apple and the #1 Loewe, both tops in build quality, aesthetics, and would be virtually untouchable in whatever Apple has in mind for the new Apple TV and products to come.
Good luck, Apple! Jonny Ive should, after a few years of blending the best designs of American and German beauty, be Lord Jonny Ive.
I had the same set myself. Absolutely amazing television. Blew away all other CRT sets of the day. When I needed to repair/replace it a year ago, you couldn’t get them anymore as they stopped selling in the US. Loewe had a concept television (maybe they sell it now?) made of clear glass. Entirely transparent when turned off. Incredible. It used two LEDs when turned on – one to block light from coming through from the back and the other to produce a picture. Concept art showed it in front of a wall and in front of a glass door. I WANTED one, but couldn’t buy at the time. If Apple ever did something like this……holy shit. I really hope they do this deal.
Loewe sets are best in class in the world.
Here is a link to the concept set. http://www.yankodesign.com/2011/02/03/look-carefully-it’s-a-transparent-tv/
Jobs said Apple is now a consumer electronics manufacturerer, when he changed it’s name to Apple inc. he named Sony as an inspiration…Royce is as Deitr Rams as Apple and would be a perfect fit (check out their products) to kickoff and accommodate Apple’s consumer electronics surge.
Look out! If this happens Apple will kick ass all over and be the Sony that Sony once was, which will be a perfect vision.
Dieter Rams
I just checked out the Loewe web site (didn’t know anything about them before reading this). They seem they would be a good fit with Apple. Their products already look like they could have been designed by Ive.
Seems strange no one has made the connection between the Apple TV rumours and the fact Apple hired Tom Holman (Mr. THX) last year.
Sir Jonny Ive has long had a deep admiration for the design work of Deiter Rams, of Braun fame, and Loewe carry a similar design aesthetic, so very much a perfect fit for Apple, plus it gives them access to other consumer electronics, like audio, as well.
Anyone else notice the other shareholders in Loewe; Sharp and LaCie? Apple already have considerable connections with Sharp, and a digital storage company like LaCie would be useful to have connections with,mtoo.
Great dig – thanks for the information Rorschach.
“Deiter Rams” admiration by Jonny. I did not know that.
Very cool.
Apple, Sharp and Loewe – make a great team.
Samsung thought they couldn’t be touched in the television spectrum. We shall see.
Wow, for a second I thought Apple just purchased Germany.
They’d need quite a bit more than $112m to buy Germany.
Greece, on the other hand……yeah, they’d probably get change.
…HIGH QUALITY AV
Loewe made the world’s best CRT televisions, their minimalistic design matched with uber high quality was unsurpassed.
Would be very interesting to see Loewe bought by Apple, I really hope this happens.
This would be so great! Like others, I hadn’t heard of Loewe before today but checking their site has me convinced that this would be an ideal design partner.
Oddly enough, the other day I was thinking that Bang & Olafsen would be an interesting intersection with Apple, and now this!
Cool!
All for one day of profits? Get ‘er done
Looks to be good fit
Interesting, very interesting.
It would be the typical apple approach of buying in the expertise for this type of market.
Very similar in a way to Apple buying SoundJam. Look where that led.
The way that Apple collect industry experience is superb. They go for the up and coming, best yet undervalued organizations that have key technology.
Look at Google and M$ and you see they go for bloated overblown and over the hill companies just to try and control the industry.
+ and Microsoft going for Skype.
Buying up companies and pretty much doing nothing with them – but in comparison, there is where Apple differentiates yet again. Loewe expertise in the industry will be a blessing to Apple.
Tomorrow Google will announce the acquisition of Sansui… (If you can’t be bothered to look them up, they are the sole remaining producer of CRT television sets…”perfect for a child’s bedroom”
:^)
funny
Nearly bought a Loewe once. Maybe there’ll be one in my future after all!
MDN is an Apple news aggregation site, the post above links to AppleInsider article.
So what are you complaining about? That it took MDN four hours to link to the article on AppleInsider?
No, just that it took you over eight hours to steal my nic and post a ratty reply.
…MY NAME COPIED!
Talk of stealing nicknames, you’ve taken mine! Ohhh, that’s very rude.
Only thing I have to add is a question: If this IS happening, how far along can Apple be? A second one: How long until an iTV could come out? Wouldn’t it be far into the future?
If Apple has been working with Sharp (part owner of Loewe) and if Apple has been in talks with Loewe, and if Terry Gou is correct in his recent statements, then this could be a fast track item.
We assume Apple has been hard at work on their end and with Sharp. Add in the talent, patents and design of Loewe and there you go.