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Sennheiser is for sale: Sonova wants to divest itself of the headphone brand

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Edited

In a press release outlining its future strategy, Sonova almost casually mentions something major: the separation from its consumer hearing division, and thus from Sennheiser. Sonova acquired the consumer audio division of Sennheiser Electronic GmbH for €200 million in 2021. However5 , the audio specialists apparently never quite fit in with the parent company.

Sonova states matter-of-factly that it intends to concentrate on hearing aids and cochlear implants. It will consistently align its resources accordingly. According to the official statement,9 distribution channels, demand dynamics, and development cycles in the consumer audio market differ too significantly from those of hearing aids and cochlear implants. Therefore, starting with the 2025/26 financial year, the audio division will be reported as a business unit designated for sale.

Sonova aims to achieve sales of 6 billion Swiss francs by fiscal year 2030/31. The demand for hearing aids is steadily increasing, particularly in Germany, due to demographic trends. At the same time, the market penetration of hearing solutions remains low. This presents an opportunity for the company.

Back in 2021, many market observers were surprised by Sonova’s acquisition of Sennheiser’s consumer business. Perhaps they were following the example of the Danish manufacturer GN, which also sells hearing aids and is active in the headphone and headset market with its Jabra and SteelSeries brands. But apparently, the plan failed. Sennheiser is now looking for a new owner for its consumer division.

source:

Sennheiser wird verkauft: Sonova will sich von der Kopfhörer-Marke trennen6

Sonova erwähnt in einer Mitteilung zur kommenden Strategie des Unternehmens fast schon nebenbei etwas Großes: die Trennung von seiner ...

Edited

Depending upon who ends up with the perpetual license for the brand name, this change could affect hearing aids sold at Costco.

Currently, Costco uses the Sennheiser name for their Phonak products.

it’s also a very good time to buy Sennheiser headphones and other consumer products. I have seen discounts of 40% or more on many of the traditional retail channels.

Edited

I never quite understood what market they were aiming for. I bought the All-Day Clear for $1400 when they were first released in 2023, and ended up returning them. While it might have been a perfectly good hearing aid, they erred on the side of over-simplification for the setup. There was no way to input an , no way to manually change the gain for different channels, and no way to manually switch between modes. If someone is ok with those limitations, much cheaper options exist.

You could buy an extra audiologist support package that allowed for some of those modifications, but that seems to no longer be an option. But if you’re going to do that, then there’s no point in going OTC, and you could have just gone to Costco and probably gotten a better aid for the same or less money. They’ve since dropped the price to $999, but all of that is still true.

Now they’re selling repackaged Phonaks at Costco under the Sennheiser brand. Didn’t Phonak used to do that directly? They don’t need a separate company for that purpose.

Meanwhile, everyone else’s technology has evolved. $200 airpods are probably better than any OTC aid on the market. I don’t think there’s much money to be made in that space anymore, if there ever was.

In reply to @rfmparis

My new Sennheier’s from Costco (Feb. 2026) have the name Sonova, Switzerland, on the box, not Phonak. With all the noise about Sennheiser, and parent company Sonova parting the ways on some sound products, its hard to tell if the Sennheier brand aid will be around long. I’m not betting any dollars on the outcome. These days, big business is al about CEO’s and bean counters in their ivory towers, paying their stock holders. As a long time user of aids, I am satisfied with the new Senhnheiers - in my case, much superior sound to the 3 year old Jabra’s tinny sound. Obviously, all us aid users have different hearing requirements. I tried some Phonaks but didn’t hear enough difference to justify the excessive price. Having owned the top of the line Sennheiser headphones for my TV and music for years, I am banking on their aids. Hearing aids are still a crutch to help, but don’t replace normal hearing, so we must live with what technology offers. I still remember my mother wearing a top oft the line Zenith mini-tube model requiring A and B batteries, in the 1950’s, carrying the device in a pocket, with a long wire up to the earpiece. Fortunately the technology has vastly evolved.

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