From "Audio Powerhouse" to "Autonomous Driving Pioneer": The Decade-Long Saga of Samsung's Acquisition of Harman

Chairman Jay Y. Lee’s Bold Decision: Acquiring Harman in 2016
Overcoming Concerns, Achieving Record Results Last Year
Revenue Reaches 15.8 Trillion Won, Operating Profit Hits 1.5 Trillion Won

The year 2026 marks the 10th anniversary of Samsung Electronics’ bold announcement of its acquisition of Harman, as well as the 80th anniversary of JBL, Harman’s flagship brand. The partnership between Samsung and Harman, which began amid some concerns over the so-called "winner’s curse," has achieved remarkable growth over the past decade, becoming a landmark case in the history of domestic and international mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Let's take a closer look at Harman’s past 10 years, during which it has firmly established itself as a core growth engine for Samsung, and the future that lies ahead.

Samsung Electronics Chairman Jay Y. Lee is meeting with Oliver Zipse, BMW CEO, at the BMW Driving Center located in Yeongjongdo, Incheon in 2022, discussing cooperation plans in the battery and automotive electronics sectors. Samsung Electronics

From the Birth of JBL in 1946 to the Samsung Acquisition: Shaping the History of Audio

Harman has deep roots. It originated from "Lansing Sound" (now JBL), established by James B. Lansing in 1946, and Harman Kardon, founded in 1953. Beginning with its acquisition of JBL in 1969, Harman successively absorbed world-class audio brands such as AKG, Bang & Olufsen (B&O) car audio division, Mark Levinson, and Lexicon, building an unrivaled multi-brand portfolio.

Having led the audio market with innovative technologies like the Dolby stereo cassette player, Harman now reigns as a powerhouse in sound, satisfying customer preferences across all segments—from consumer audio equipment to car audio and large-scale stage sound systems.

In November 2016, Samsung Electronics made a surprise announcement of its acquisition of Harman for 9.4 trillion won (approximately 8 billion US dollars), the largest deal in Korean M&A history at the time. The bet paid off. Last year, Harman recorded its highest-ever results with sales of 15.7833 trillion won and operating profit of 1.5311 trillion won. This is more than double the sales (7.1034 trillion won) posted in 2017, immediately following Samsung Electronics’ completion of the acquisition. Notably, the operating margin reached 9.7%, indicating that the company has not only achieved external growth but also solidified its profitability.

Samsung Harman JBL Bluetooth Speaker. Samsung Electronics

'Automotive Electronics' and 'Audio': Achieving Both

The background to this success lies in Chairman Jay Y. Lee’s bold decision to designate automotive electronics as Samsung’s next-generation growth engine. It was the result of a strategic alignment between Samsung, which was seeking opportunities in automotive components—core to the future vehicle market—and Harman, which aimed to evolve into a smart device player by incorporating IT. The combination of Samsung’s semiconductor, 5G communications, and display technologies with Harman’s automotive electronics solutions stabilized the hardware supply base and laid the groundwork for capturing leadership in advanced markets.

Currently, Samsung Harman holds the world’s top position in key automotive electronics components such as digital cockpits and car audio. Automotive-related business now accounts for about 70% of Harman’s total sales. This not only surpasses traditional competitors like Sony and Bose in the global market, but also ranks alongside the world’s top 40 automotive electronics companies. Furthermore, Harman continues to maintain its unrivaled leadership in specialized audio markets such as stage sound systems and Bluetooth speakers, successfully capturing both the automotive electronics and audio markets.

Samsung Harman's Latest Automotive Electronics Solutions. Samsung Electronics

What’s Next for Harman?

Samsung Harman is not resting on its laurels and continues to make aggressive investments to prepare for the next 80 years. In December last year, the company invested about 2.6 trillion won to acquire the advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) division of German automotive electronics firm ZF, boosting its capabilities in integrated autonomous driving operations to a new level. In May of the same year, Harman acquired the audio division of U.S. firm Masimo for 500 billion won, bringing premium audio brands such as B&W, Denon, and Marantz under its umbrella and further solidifying its position as a leading audio company.

Efforts are also accelerating to expand R&D and production bases. Samsung Electronics plans to invest about 230 billion won in Hungary to establish an R&D center for autonomous driving software and hardware, and to expand Harman’s automotive electronics production facilities. The Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency (HIPA) expects this investment to create 25 high-value-added jobs in the R&D sector.

Samsung stated, "Harman’s audio technology is being applied to Samsung’s TVs, home appliances, and mobile devices, contributing to our position as the global leader in finished IT products," and added, "Going forward, we will further strengthen our technological capabilities in the smart car and smart home sectors through collaboration on 5G-based connected car features, Exynos Auto chips, and the SmartThings platform."

2025 CES Samsung Harman Exhibition. Samsung Electronics

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.