Gibson Guitar buys Philips A/V division

Dutch technology company Philips is selling its audiovisual arm to the American company, Gibson Brands, for €135 million. Gibson is most notably known for making electric guitars. Philips announced Monday that they will be selling the audiovisual equipment division. Next to that, Philips will be able to profit from license agreements for the next 7 years, as Gibson will be using the brand name. These agreements are dependent on the turnover that Gibson will be making with the business, but there is a minimum, according to a Philips spokesperson. The sale will be finalized towards the second half of 2014, whereas the business will only be officially transfered to Gibson in 2017 because some of Philips' license agreements with other parties are still running. Philips made a similar deal to sell the audiovisual arm to Japan's Funai for $200 million, but that deal fell apart last year. The division was placed back on the shelves under the name Woox Innovations. According to ABC News, Philips has said that the failed deal will not affect the current agreement. Gibson is one of the biggest players in music instrument manufacturing, and has been operating since 1902. They started with mandolins and guitars, and later grew into loudspeakers and amplifiers. The company is now also taking a step into consumer-electronics. Gibson took a stock in the Japanese company Onkyo in 2012, and took over TEAC last year. Woox Innovations has its headquarters in Hong Kong, and it employs almost 1900 people worldwide