JVC, Kenwood to Merge, Reports Say

The audio equipment brand Kenwood and the struggling electronics brand JVC will merge as part of a holding company next year, according to a report Monday by Reuters which cited the Japanese news agency Nikkei.

The merger would entail Matsushita, JVC’s current owner, selling JVC to a newly created holding company, at which point Kenwood would buy shares of JVC through a third-party allocation. The two companies would then merge at some point in 2008.

Spokesmen of the three companies (JVC, Kenwood, and Matsushita) all told Reuters that nothing was yet official.