We are delighted to have assisted the shareholder of audio software developer Sonnox Limited on the sale of the Company to Focusrite plc. Gail Vallis led the Gardner Leader team with support from Joe Lewis, Rabika Basran, Karron Whitter and Peter James.
Based near Oxford, Sonnox Limited is a well-established and acclaimed brand in the global audio industry. Its range of innovative, high quality, award-winning processing software is used in a wide range of audio applications including mixing for music production, live sound, broadcast, TV & Film, and even scientific and forensics projects.
The business was wholly owned by Rod Densham, who was one of the co-founders of the “Sony Oxford” start-up that designed the legendary Oxford OXF-R3 for Sony Corporation. The console was installed in major recording studios worldwide and became widely accepted as the first ‘musical’ sounding digital console. As Digital Audio Workstations running on computers became the standard medium for audio to be recorded and edited, many hardware companies, including Sony, began porting their hardware signal processing to a “plug-in” format that could be utilised in these workstations. Rod led the team at Sony that ported their audio digital signal processing algorithms into plug-ins, which he then acquired from Sony in 2007 to form Sonnox Limited. Since then, they have continued to build on the Sony Oxford heritage together with adding a range of Toolbox plug-ins designed for speed and simplicity. Rod and his entire team of 16 will stay with the business post acquisition.
Today Sonnox’s software is sold through an established sales channel of more than 100 dealers worldwide, together with its own e-commerce site. Sales are particularly strong in the USA, Japan, and the UK. Sonnox has protected its intellectual property through software copyrights, international trademarks and patents.
Rod Densham, Founder and Managing Director of Sonnox Limited said “It’s been a pleasure to work with Gail and her team at Gardner Leader on the sale. It’s not a process I’ve been through before, and Gail helped me understand the intricacies and protected me throughout the ups and downs. Her patience, authority and calm professionalism were very evident; and through bumpy moments of potentially bad news she sensitively presented me with clearly explained options. I would not hesitate to recommend Gail and her team for future transaction support.”
Gail Vallis, Corporate Associate at Gardner Leader added “it has been a real pleasure to work with Rod and his team on this exciting transaction between two companies with market leading brands and I look forward to seeing what comes next for the combined group”.