A major story has been making rounds in the HiFi community over the past few days: Barco, the Belgian visual technology giant, has acquired 100% of VerVent Audio Holding — the French parent company of Focal and Naim — for 135 million euros, roughly equivalent to 1.08 billion RMB.
VerVent Audio Holding will be integrated into Barco’s Entertainment division, providing integrated audio‑visual solutions for its cinema and home theater businesses.
VerVent posted revenue of around 110 million euros in 2025, and was sold for just 135 million euros.This reflects the current reality of the HiFi industry: commercial value remains relatively modest. Many Chinese companies and investment firms could easily afford 1.08 billion RMB — enough to acquire two of the most iconic names in global HiFi: Focal (France) and Naim (UK).
Focal, in particular, is a leading brand across HiFi speakers, headphones, home theater, custom installation, professional audio, and car audio. Yet even with such strong brand recognition, its actual business value and profitability are fairly ordinary.
This is far from an isolated case:
- Sennheiser, one of the most famous consumer HiFi headphone brands, was acquired by hearing‑aid company Sonova for about 1.5 billion RMB.
- By comparison, Chinese audio brand HiFiMAN now has a valuation exceeding 2.2 billion RMB.
- STAX, the revered Japanese electrostatic headphone maker, was bought by Edifier for less than 10 million RMB — less than the price of some high‑end apartments in Beijing or Shanghai.
A fascinating paradox of the HiFi and High‑End industry:Brands that sound prestigious and carry legendary status within enthusiast circles often turn out to have average commercial value and profitability when acquisition deals happen.
M&A decisions are based purely on profitability, not prestige or heritage.These transactions reveal the real market valuations of some of the most revered names in audio.