HARMAN enters into definitive agreement to acquire Interchain Solution of Bangalore to expand Android-based infotainment and telematics offerings
August 07, 2012 Connected Car India
HARMAN, the premium global audio and infotainment group (NYSE:HAR), today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Interchain Solution, a technology product company that specializes in developing telematics, fleet management, Android based in-vehicle infotainment and location-based solutions. Based in Bangalore, the company was founded in 2007 to bring connectivity and location-based services to enterprises and individual consumers alike. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and it is expected to close in late August.
The acquisition will expand HARMAN's design and engineering footprint in India, and will augment the Company's automotive infotainment and telematics offerings. Interchain's products such as GWVectra and GWTrack will complement HARMAN's portfolio and also expand the Company's reach to include commercial vehicle makers.
"We are delighted to have the outstanding team of specialists from Interchain join us," said Dinesh C. Paliwal, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of HARMAN. "Some of the freshest and most innovative ideas are being developed in India and other emerging markets, and we will harness this energy such that customers get magnified gains through use of emerging technologies and platforms combined with Harman's highly successful and proven infotainment solutions."
Anand Ramamoorthy, Managing Director of HARMAN (India) said, "We believe the combination of Interchain and Harman will provide our customers in both established and emerging markets with a highly compelling proposition. In addition to enhancing our competitiveness, speed to innovate and spread of offerings in the space, it will allow us to offer our clients truly integrated and globally competitive products and solutions."
Interchain has an array of cost-effective hardware platforms which are deployed for fleet tracking, connectivity, telematics applications and an Android-based Infotainment solution for Automotive OEMs. Some of Interchain's current customers include TeleAtlas, ALJACS Toyota, MapmyIndia and government institutions such as police & transport departments of various cities across India.
In addition to planned integration with Harman, Interchain will continue working with its existing customers in deploying and maintaining its custom solutions. Interchain employs some of the brightest engineers for end-to-end product design and development at its R&D centre in Bangalore.
HARMAN (www.harman.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets — supported by 15 leading brands, including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon® and Mark Levinson®. The Company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of about 13,400 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported net sales of $4.4 billion for the twelve months ending June 30, 2012. The Company's shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol NYSE:HAR.