Sonny and Cher. Lennon and McCartney. John and Taupin. Slijngaard and Doth. Just some of the famous musical duos that will be remembered throughout history.

And now, possibly, you can add Gibson and Onkyo to that list after the guitar giant opted to acquire a?majority of Onkyo USA and form a strategic partnership with the audio specialist. The deal will also see Onkyo making an investment in Gibson Guitar Corp. and each company's CEO taking a seat on the opposite one's board.

"This partnership has significant positive implications for Onkyo?as we are always seeking ways of creating new value," said Onkyo CEO and president Munenori Otsuki.

"Gibson is a leading global company?with a massive fan base, best-in-class?products and superior marketing?skills. Coming together in this?way opens the door for amazing opportunities for both companies and, more?importantly, fans of Onkyo and Gibson."

Gibson chairman and CEO Henry Juszkiewicz added: "While people may be listening to?more music, they are listening to it primarily in a severely compressed format. The aural disparity between a real?system and compressed sound is vast, and as a?result, they are simply not?hearing tremendously rich sounds. With Onkyo, our goal is to bring the same exceptional?experience artists demand in the studio to a larger consumer base."

We at Pocket-lint love Onkyo's superb audio kit and we can't wait to see the first fruit of this strategic partnership hit the shops. A Gibson guitar with a built in AV receiver... ridiculous - but yes please.

Tags: Audio Gibson Onkyo Biz Mergers

Gibson and Onkyo form strategic partnership originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 05 Jan 2012 12:01:00 +0000

With RIM's stock at an all time low, it is no surprise that sharks look to be circling the mobile phone and tablet maker. However the interest, it seems, is coming from those you wouldn't, perhaps, expect. They're some of the biggest fish around.

According to two separate articles on Wednesday, by Reuters and the Wall Street Journal, those sharks include Amazon, Nokia and Microsoft.

Reuters is claiming that "people with knowledge of the situation" have told them that Amazon - yes, the online retailer - even fancied seeing what it could do with the ailing smartphone maker.

"Research In Motion Ltd has turned down takeover overtures from Amazon.com Inc and other potential buyers because the BlackBerry maker prefers to fix its problems on its own, according to people with knowledge of the situation," writes the news agency.

According to the article, Amazon even hired an investment bank to look into a potential merger, but an offer wasn't forthcoming.

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that Nokia and Microsoft looked to join forces in order to buy RIM. It claims that sources have told them that the organisations "flirted with the idea of making a joint bid for Research In Motion Ltd" and even entered into discussions with the company. However, the results of those talks are unclear.

RIM's market value has plunged 77 per cent in the last 12 months.

Read

Tags: Biz Microsoft Nokia Amazon Mergers BlackBerry

Nokia, Amazon and Microsoft circle RIM - is a takeover on the cards? originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 21 Dec 2011 11:40:00 +0000