News: Boesendorfer Sold To Yamaha

Richard Handal has been keeping a close eye on the bidding war over Boesendorfer that ultimately ended this month when the Austrian pianomaker was sold to Yamaha. A bidding war over the company kicked off earlier this year after Boesendorfer’s former owner, Austrian bank Bawag, decided to consolidate by selling off some of its flagging properties. Yamaha managed to grab the company for the cost of 15 million Euros. We’re not exactly sure how many individual pianos that would buy, but apparently Boesendorfer lost 2 million Euros in 2006 and is currently 8 million in debt, so it’s probably a bargain when it comes to purchasing 179-year-old makers of handmade pianos.

According to the Times Online article, Yamaha hopes to “[transfer] Bösendorfer’s crafting techniques back to Japan to enhance the quality and reputation of its own brand. Yamaha has recently undertaken a series of bold corporate moves in an effort to protect the future of its piano business, which, like other big players in the traditional piano manufacturing centres, has come under pressure from new cheaper models being made in emerging economies, such as China.”