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| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| NYSE: HAR (1986-2017) S&P 100 component (until 2017) S&P 500 component (until 2017) | |
| Industry | Audio electronics |
| Founded | 1980; 46 years ago (1980) |
| Founders | |
| Headquarters | Stamford, Connecticut, U.S. |
Key people | Christian Sobottka (president &CEO) |
| Products | Audio equipment |
| Brands | See list |
| Revenue |  $10.5 billion(2024)[1] |
Number of employees | 33,400 (2024)[2] |
| Parent | Samsung Electronics |
| Website | www |
Harman International Industries, Inc., commonly known asHarman, is an Americanaudio electronics company.[3] Since 2017, the company has been operating as an independent subsidiary ofSamsung Electronics.[4]
Headquartered inStamford, Connecticut, US, it has its own executive leadership team.[5] Harman maintains major operations in theAmericas,Europe, andAsia. Harman markets its products under various brands, includingAKG,AMX,Arcam,Bang & Olufsen,Becker,Boston Acoustics,Bowers & Wilkins, BSS Audio,Classé,Crown,dbx,Definitive Technology,Denon, DigiTech,Harman Kardon,HEOS,Infinity,JBL,Lexicon,Mark Levinson,Marantz,Martin,Polk Audio,Revel,Soundcraft andStuder.
Sidney Harman andBernard Kardon founded the predecessor to Harman International,Harman Kardon, in 1953. Both Harman and Kardon wereengineers by training and had worked at the Bogen Company, which was a manufacturer ofpublic address systems. They developed high-fidelity audio products together. Harman bought out his partner in 1956 and then expanded Harman Kardon.[6]
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In the 1960s, Harman Kardon acquired other audio companies such asJBL.[7] In the 1970s, Harman accepted an appointment in theCarter administration asUnited States Deputy Secretary of Commerce and sold his company to conglomerateBeatrice Foods to avoid a conflict of interest. Beatrice sold many portions of the company, including the original Harman Kardon division.
After he left his government position in 1978,[8] he created Harman International Industries and reacquired a number of businesses he sold to Beatrice. The company continued its growth with a string of acquisitions throughout the 1980s. Harman International went public in 1986 with a stock offering on theNew York Stock Exchange. Cash from that sale was used to purchase other professional and consumer audio companies, includingSoundcraft, DOD Electronics Corp, Infinity and Epicure loudspeakers,Allen & Heath,dbx, Studer, Lexicon, AKG, BSS, Orban, Quested and Turbosound.
A 2003 acquisition wasMadrigal Audio Laboratories which includesMark Levinson andRevel.[9] In July 2011, Harman acquired MWM Acoustics.[10] Harman expanded to include lighting in 2013 with the acquisition ofMartin Professional.[11] In June 2014, Harman completed the acquisition ofAMX LLC.[12]
In March 2015, Harman acquired the automotive division ofBang & Olufsen for€145 million (US$156 million) for the unit as well as technology license fees.[13] The purchase did not include Bang & Olufsen's consumer-electronics business.[14] Later that year, recognizing the increasing role of software and services in the markets it served, Harman expanded its capabilities around cloud, mobility and analytics with the acquisitions ofSymphony Teleca, a software services company based in Mountain View, CA,[15] andRedbend, an Israeli-based provider of software management technology for connected devices, and over-the-air (OTA) software and firmware upgrading services.[16]
In March 2016, Harman acquired the automotive cyber-security firm TowerSec.[17] This acquisition was notable for further demonstrating Harman's desire to expand beyond its traditional business areas of in-car audio and entertainment systems.[18]
On November 14, 2016, Harman entered into an agreement to be acquired bySamsung Electronics.[19] In February 2017, Harman International shareholders voted in favor of the acquisition by Samsung.[20] On March 10, 2017, the acquisition was completed, with Harman becoming the independent subsidiary of Samsung.[21]
In 2017, Samsung acquired Harman International.[22] Harman makeshigh fidelity audio products under many brand names such asAKG,AMX,Becker,Crown,Harman Kardon,Infinity,JBL,Lexicon,dbx, DigiTech,Mark Levinson,Martin,Revel,Soundcraft,Studer,Arcam,Bang & Olufsen and BSS Audio.
In May 2025, Harman agreed to the acquirement ofBowers & Wilkins,Marantz,Denon,Polk Audio,Definitive Technology,Classé,HEOS andBoston Acoustics asMasimo sells its consumer audio business.[23][24][25]
In December 2025, it was announced that Harman had agreed to acquire theadvanced driver-assistance system (ADAS) business ofZF Group for €1.5 billion. The transaction, expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to regulatory approval, included compute platforms, smart camera and radar technologies, and the transfer of approximately 3,750 employees.[26]
Harman International Industries was to delist from NYSE in Q3/2007 due to a buy-out byKKR andGoldman Sachs Alternatives.[27] However, as of mid-September 2007, KKR announced they would back out of the deal.
Coincident with the buy-out deal,Dinesh Paliwal was hired as company president and CEO in July 2007. On July 1, 2008, Sidney Harman was succeeded by Dinesh Paliwal as chairman of the board.[28] In April 2020 he was succeeded by Michael Mauser.[29]
Media related toHarman International Industries at Wikimedia CommonsA subsidiary ofSamsung Electronics | ||
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