News of the sale of Masimo Corp.’s consumer audio unit may be music to the ears of investors, even at the steep discount from its original purchase price. Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.’s Harman International Industries Inc. unit snapped up the Sound United business for about $350 million – roughly one-third of the $1.025 billion Masimo paid for the company in 2022.
Joe Kiani’s reign at Masimo Corp. abruptly ended following a vote at the annual shareholders meeting on Sept. 19 that saw Kiani, Masimo’s founder and CEO, ousted from the board as part of a hard-fought battle with activist investor Politan Capital Management. Michelle Brennan, a Politan nominee and former Johnson & Johnson senior executive who won her board seat last year, was named interim CEO.
The years’ long effort by activist investor Politan Capital Management LP to take control of the Masimo Corp. board of directors and oust Masimo CEO and founder Joe Kiani took a turn for the weird this week as news emerged that Masimo Chief Operating Officer Bilal Muhsin notified the board that he would step down if Kiani were pushed out.
Less than two years after acquiring Sound United for $1.025 billion, Masimo Corp. plans to hive off the consumer audio subsidiary along with consumer health products such as its Stork baby monitor and Freedom smart watch and band. The “rushed” announcement made Friday “came after being informed that Politan intended to nominate directors this week,” said activist investor Politan Capital Management. Politan, which owns 8.9% of the company, secured two board seats in a highly contentious proxy battle last year and nominated two more on Monday morning.
With a bruising battle with its largest investor barely behind it, Masimo Corp.’s preliminary second quarter results came in nearly $100 million below consensus, putting management in an even tougher position now that it has two new investor-aligned board members. Share price plunged from $147.16 to $110 following the after-hours announcement on Monday. By the closing bell on Tuesday, shares had recovered modestly to $117.73.
In a move that stunned and dismayed analysts and investors, Masimo Corp. announced a definitive agreement to acquire Sound United LLC Tuesday evening for $1.025 billion. Masimo’s stock (NASDAQ:MASI) plunged on the news of its intended purchase of the high-performance consumer audio products company, plummeting 39% from $228.84 at Tuesday’s close to $139.60 at Wednesday’s opening bell. Volatility led the Nasdaq to suspend trading in the stock for four minutes before 10 am. The stock recovered slightly during the day to close Wednesday at $147.00.
