Bang & Olufsen A/S, the Danish maker of luxury consumer electronics, is in talks to be bought by its Chinese distribution partner Sparkle Roll Group Ltd. for an undisclosed amount.
Sparkle Roll, which also sells Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars as well as luxury watches, said in a statement that any price must reflect ?significant uncertainty? around the brand and the investment required to expand Bang & Olufsen. The Hong Kong-listed distributor trades at half the market value of Bang & Olufsen.

New ownership would allow B&O?s management to focus on turning around the company and increase sales, said Qi Jianhong, Sparkle Roll?s largest shareholder according to data compiled by Bloomberg. B&O, which makes $8,000-plus TVs, has struggled to win buyers for its products as prices for flat-screen sets tumble and more people listen to music on smartphones rather than home hi-fi systems. “B&O would benefit from a different ownership structure than the present in order for the company to free up resources, accelerate growth and facilitate consolidation,” Qi Jianhong said in Sparkle Roll?s statement.
Shares of B&O rose as much as 8 percent and traded 3.7 percent higher at 71 kroner as of 11.34 a.m. in Copenhagen, giving the manufacturer a market value of about 3.1 billion kroner ($460 million). B&O stock has declined about 14 percent this year.
A sale of the 91-year-old electronics maker would mark the end of an era for a company known globall...