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Burkhardt’s Soundcast Deal is Off, Company Refinances

The high-profile sale of high-performance wireless music systems manufacturer, Soundcast Systems to former SpeakerCraft CEO and industry icon Jeremy Burkhardt fell through, according to company president Mike Weaver, and the company is moving forward with new financing, additional staff, and aggressive product plans with its original owners, not Burkhardt, at the helm.

The high-profile sale of high-performance wireless music systems manufacturer, Soundcast Systems to former SpeakerCraft CEO and industry icon Jeremy Burkhardt fell through, according to company president Mike Weaver, and the company is moving forward with new financing, additional staff, and aggressive product plans with its original owners, not Burkhardt, at the helm. Soundcast OutCast.Mike Weaver.

The deal to sell Soundcast to Burkhardt, announced in late February 2013, had included an aggressive and multifaceted 90-day fast track sale with a short window of exclusivity. Burkhardt did not close the transaction within the timeline. Soundcast’s owners and leadership team had the option to extend the deadline but instead elected to infuse the company itself with the capital necessary to expand immediately.

These new capital resources will accelerate the 2013 new products-to-market, future product development, increased staff, multi-market expansion and the infrastructure enhancements and support necessary to execute the aggressive business plan currently underway, according to Weaver.

“We are moving full speed ahead with the added capital and strengthening our team through new hires and development of new marketing and sales tools for our channel partners,” Weaver stated.

The company’s first hire is former SpeakerCraft employee Nick Berry, who will lead Weaver’s in-house sales team, as director of sales. He was brought in by Burkhardt, and well liked by the Soundcast team, according to Weaver. The feeling was apparently mutual, so he chose to remain when Burkhardt exited.

Oscar Ciornei will continue to serve in a consultant role, Weaver added, pushing forward with new markets and business development. “It is mind-blowing to see the positive result this process has had on our organization with a focused direction and the capital to support it,” Weaver said. “Our entire team is excited about the new markets, new products and growth opportunities that lie ahead for Soundcast.”

In the company’s official release, Burkhardt offered this statement: “Things like this happen and I respect the management team’s decision to not extend the deadline. The past few months have been amazing working with people and products that I love and my passion for the industry has never been so strong.”

The company plans to unveil two new products in April and continue its accelerated development of new wireless products that best fit the needs of the modern connected world, with many new innovative models slated for 2013 and 2014. Soundcast has one of the most comprehensive patent portfolios for wireless audio in the world and will aggressively protect the company’s intellectual property of its wireless audio, digital amplification and proprietary high-performance battery technologies as the wireless audio category continues to grow worldwide.

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