Samsung subsidiary acquires music streaming platform Roon

Samsung Electronics' automotive and audio electronics subsidiary, Harman International, acquired U.S. music streaming platform Roon to expand its presence in the digital audio sector.

Samsung Electronics' automotive and audio electronics subsidiary, Harman International, acquired U.S. music streaming platform Roon to expand its presence in the digital audio sector. [SAMSUNG]

Samsung Electronics' automotive and audio electronics subsidiary, Harman International, acquired U.S. music streaming platform Roon to expand its presence in the digital audio sector.

Samsung announced the acquisition on Tuesday.

Roon is a music platform catering to music enthusiasts and compatible with almost all audio devices. It features a music management interface and a high-resolution audio playback engine, according to Samsung's press release.

It also supports all major operating systems and manufactures a line of hardware server appliances called Nucleus, according to Samsung.

However, financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Harman expects the acquisition will diversify its business portfolio by tapping into Roon's open device ecosystem, which includes collaborations with more than 160 other audio brands.

"At Harman we take great pride in our ability to create exceptional audio experiences for our partners and consumers around the world," Dave Rogers, president of Harman's Lifestyle Division, said in a statement. "The team at Roon shares our passion in bringing exceptional sound and connectivity to music lovers as they browse, discover, and listen at home and on the go."

The company said Roon will continue to operate independently following the acquisition.

Harman plans to grow Roon's open device ecosystem, which includes collaborating with more than 160 other audio brands and delivering audio to more than 1000 high-performance devices.

Samsung, the world's largest memory chip and smartphone vendor, acquired Harman for $8 billion in March 2017 to tap into the rapidly growing in-vehicle electronics market.

BY KIM JU-YEON, YONHAP [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]