Key Takeaways:
- Bose Corporation has acquired Skullcandy from a fund managed by Mill Road Capital Management.
- Skullcandy will remain a separate brand based in Park City, Utah.
Bose Corporation announced Wednesday that it has acquired Skullcandy, the Park City, Utah-based lifestyle audio brand with roots in boardsports. Bose bought the company from a fund managed by Mill Road Capital Management, a Connecticut-based private investment firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Skullcandy will remain a separate brand within Bose’s Premium Consumer Audio business and will continue to be based in Park City. The acquisition follows a multiyear partnership that brought Sound by Bose technology to Skullcandy earbuds and headphones.
Bose said the deal advances its evolution into a multi-brand products and technology company. Skullcandy joins a portfolio that includes Bose, McIntosh and Sonus Faber.
“For more than 60 years, Bose has been committed to delivering incredible audio experiences however and wherever people choose to listen,” Bose Chief Executive Officer Lila Snyder said in a statement. “As we work to reach even more people, we’re expanding how we do that, not only through Bose products, but through technology partnerships and a growing portfolio of brands.”
“As a privately held company, we have the freedom to make bold, long-term investments in opportunities we believe in, and Skullcandy is a great example of that,” Snyder said. “They have an established, thriving brand, and together we see tremendous opportunity to create new products and experiences and reach more consumers around the world.”
A Brand Back in the Core
Skullcandy CEO Brian Garofalow. File photo courtesy of Skullcandy.
Founder Rick Alden launched Skullcandy in Park City in 2003. The company went public on the Nasdaq in July 2011 at $20 per share, but its stock fell into the single digits by 2013 as sales slumped. In 2016, Mill Road took Skullcandy private for about $196.6 million, or $6.35 per share, after a bidding war with mobile accessories maker Incipio.
After broadening distribution into big box stores, Skullcandy largely disappeared from the core action sports market. Brian Garofalow has rejuvenated the brand since Skullcandy named him CEO in January 2023. He spent the first 20 years of his career in action sports brand management, including at DC Shoes, RVCA and Element.
“We believe this is a win for Skullcandy and our fans,” Garofalow said in a statement. “Skullcandy was born on a chairlift in Park City, Utah, over 20 years ago, and we’ve always believed great music should be part of the experiences people love. Joining Bose gives us the opportunity to make those experiences even better by bringing more of their audio expertise and technology to our products, and it opens up even more ways to take Skullcandy further.”
Bose said it plans to invest in Skullcandy’s continued growth, providing greater access to technology, resources, global distribution and commercial relationships while giving the brand the freedom to continue evolving in ways that are authentic to its identity and consumers.
