French loudspeaker manufacturers Active Audio and APG recently announced at
ProLight + Sound 2016 the signing of a strategic alliance. While both brands will
remain independent in their respective activities – and through distribution channels
– Active Audio will continue to focus on the Public Address market while APG will
still cater for live events and large venue installations. The decision to join forces
will foster critical synergies between both companies in R&D, production, financing
and ultimately global reach.

As a result, Regis Cazin, steps up as CEO of both Active Audio and APG with
immediate effect. Active Audio will now hold 60% of APG shares while APG’s
historical shareholders, Jean-Luc Moncel, Philippe Frarier and Gregory Dapsanse,
will hold the majority of the remaining shares.

Commenting on the agreement, Regis Cazin enthused: “All stakeholders at APG and
Active Audio feel elated to have this new alliance in place. This immensely
reinforces the potential of both companies, and will prove a tremendous
development accelerator for us all.’

Both companies will also keep their existing network of distributors and capitalise
on their respective local relays to promote the other brand where only one company
is active in a given territory.

This alliance is the result of a common vision and strategy: Active Audio was
looking for external growth while APG France was seeking an investor or industrial
partner in order to strengthen its resources. With this alliance, both companies
reinforce their position as a challenger to current industry leaders.

Discussions only started in November 2015, and both companies quickly found a
number of strategic and operational synergies, with complementary product lines
and virtually no overlap: a great opportunity for existing distributors of both brands
which will also benefit end users.

Gregory Dapsanse, who becomes Marketing and Business Development Director for
APG, will continue to define the product strategy for the brand. Drawing a parallel
between both companies, he commented: “The similarities between us are quite
amazing: Not only do we have a similar size and structure, but our philosophy and
approach of the acoustic world is a perfect match.’

Both companies will keep all existing staff. In fact, in light of this alliance, Active
Audio and APG have already started recruiting key personnel to support this new
business strategy. Last month, APG hired two engineers (support and product) and
are in the process of recruiting a sales manager dedicated to the French market as
well as a sales assistant, while Active Audio has recruited two people to support
their distribution channel and communications.

Summing up this announcement, Cazin said: “I am confident that the strong
electroacoustic savoir-faire of our companies, along with the synergies produced by
this alliance, will help us continue to develop the specific technologies and solutions
that the industry can expect from us and set us aside from the competition.’