US private equity giant KKR hopes to tap into the booming global dance music scene by paying $550 million (£339 million) for the DJ equipment division of Pioneer, favoured by the likes of Avicii.
Japanese audio specialist Pioneer is spinning off its headphone, turntable and mixer making division into a new venture known as Pioneer DJ, with New York-headquartered KKR taking an 85% stake in the new company.
KKR Japan chief executive Hirofumi Hirano said: “Pioneer has built a leading global DJ equipment business based on its powerful brands and excellence in matching product development to market requirements.”
Pioneer has been selling off non-core parts of its business as it looks to focus on in-car electronics.
It last week announced a deal to sell its home entertainment division to audio equipment maker Onkyo.
Tokyo-headquartered Pioneer helped to popularise DJing with CDs rather than vinyl, launching the first professional grade CDJ mixer in 1994.
KKR makes investments across the world and across industry, with a notable UK investment Pets at Home.
The group is perhaps best known for its leveraged buyout of Oreo maker RJR Nabisco for $25 billion in 1988. At the time it was the largest buyout in history and the deal was chronicled in the book Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco.
