ITASCA, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr. 30, 2015- – Knowles Corporation (NYSE: KN), a market leader and global supplier of advanced micro-acoustic solutions and specialty components, today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Audience, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADNC). The transaction will expand Knowles’ existing expertise in intelligent audio and signal processing solutions through Audience’s strong engineering team and robust patent portfolio. The highly complementary product and technology portfolios will enable Knowles to deliver comprehensive audio solutions to its existing customers.
Under the terms of the transaction, Knowles will pay approximately $5.00 per share, comprised of $2.50 in cash and $2.50 in Knowles common stock, subject to the collar described below. The transaction values Audience at an enterprise value of approximately $85 million, net of Audience’s cash balance of $44 million as of March 31, 2015.
“We are excited to acquire Audience’s world-leading engineering talent focused on audio processing solutions for mobile devices,” said Jeffrey Niew, President and CEO of Knowles. “This acquisition will benefit our customers and shareholders by broadening our intelligent audio offerings, and will uniquely position us to deliver end-to-end solutions for acoustics – from microphones to signal processing to speakers. These solutions will deliver better performance for our customers and drive higher dollar content as we create new applications for the mobile consumer market. In addition, we expect to realize annualized cost synergies of approximately $25 million and expect the transaction to be accretive by Q4 of 2016.”
"Audience and Knowles have pioneered the revolution in connected device audio capabilities," said Peter Santos, President and CEO of Audience. "The combination of the audio and sensory intelligence of Audience and the acoustic expertise and scale of Knowles creates a truly unique audio and sensory systems company. We are delighted to see our teams come together, in a way that maximizes shareholder value, stimulates innovation by our employees and delivers a new class of compelling solutions to our customers."
About Knowles
Knowles Corporation (NYSE: KN) is a market leader and global supplier of advanced micro-acoustic solutions and specialty components serving the mobile communications, consumer electronics, medical technology, military, aerospace and industrial markets. Knowles has a leading position in micro-electro-mechanical systems microphones, speakers and receivers which are used in smartphones, tablets and mobile handsets. Knowles is also a leading manufacturer of transducers used in hearing aids and other medical devices and has a strong position in oscillators (timing devices) and capacitor components which enable various types of communication. Knowles’ focus on the customer, combined with unique technology, rigorous testing and global scale, helps to deliver innovative solutions and consistently dependable and precise products. Founded in 1946 and headquartered in Itasca, Illinois, Knowles has more than 13,000 employees in 15 countries around the world. For more information, visit www.knowles.com.
About Audience
Audience (NASDAQ: ADNC) is the leader in Advanced Voice, and a pioneer in Multisensory processing and natural user experience technology for consumer devices. Its technologies, based in auditory neuroscience, improve the mobile voice experience, as well as enhance speech-based services and audio quality for multimedia. In early 2014, Audience announced its expansion into Multisensory and motion processing. Through the combination of Advanced Voice and Multisensory processing, Audience aims to transform the way consumers engage with devices by enabling seamless natural user experiences and context-aware services. Audience’s products have been shipped in more than 500 million devices worldwide. For more information, see www.audience.com.
Forward-Looking Statements are omitted