Demant

Demant A/S is an international hearing health care company within hearing aids, audiometric equipment, and personal communication.

For the surname, see Demant (surname).
Demant A/S
TypePublicly traded Aktieselskab
Nasdaq Copenhagen: DEMANT
IndustryHealth care
Founded1904 (1904)
HeadquartersSmørum, Denmark
Key people
Niels B. Christiansen (Chairman), Søren Nielsen (President and CEO)
ProductsHearing aids, audiometric equipment
RevenueIncrease DKK 13.189 billion (2017)
Increase DKK 2.338 billion (2017)
Increase DKK 1.759 billion (2017)
Total assetsIncrease DKK 16.222 billion (end 2017)
Total equityIncrease DKK 7.433 billion (end 2017)
Number of employees
Increase 13280 (average, 2017)
SubsidiariesOticon
Websitedemant.com

History

The Demant Group was founded in 1904 by Hans Demant, under the name Oticon. After his death in 1910, his son William Demant took over.[1]

Already before World War I, Oticon increased its sales volume to cover Scandinavia and Saint Petersburg. In the twenties and thirties, a network of agents was established in Europe.

During World War II, Oticon started its own production due to the scarcity of goods from other countries.

In 1957, William and his wife Ida Emilie donated the Demant family's shares in the company to the Oticon Foundation which is today called The William Demant Foundation.[2] The Foundation's general aim is charity with particular emphasis on helping people with a hearing impairment and today the Oticon Foundation is the main shareholder in William Demant Holding A/S with a holding of app. 61%.[3]

During the 1990s the company expanded further, buying the Swiss hearing aid manufacturer Bernafon, Phonic Ear, the headset manufacturer DanaCom and Interacoustics.

In 1995 the company was listed at the Copenhagen Stock Exchange. In 1997, it was decided to change the name of the parent company from Oticon Holding A/S to William Demant Holding A/S because it was considered disadvantageous to use the same name, both for the Group, and for one of its businesses. Further in 2019 William Demant Holding A/S changed its name to Demant A/S

In February 2017 it was announced that former President & CEO Niels Jacobsen would step down after 25 years in charge of the company. Instead, he would become CEO of William Demant Invest A/S. Since 1 April 2017 the company is led by President & CEO, Søren Nielsen and board chairman Niels B. Christiansen.[4]

Demant is headquartered in Smørum northwest of Copenhagen and had sales of DKK 13.9 billion in 2018.[5]

In April 2022, Demant announced it had agreed to sell Oticon Medical to Australian company Cochlear Limited for DKK850 million and would exit the hearing implant business.[6]

In June 2022, Demant acquired Chinese retailer ShengWang at a cost of RMB 1.8 billion.[7]

In November 2022, Demant acquired Japanese retailer MTHA.

Business units

Today the company focuses on three separate business units:

Hearing aids
Oticon, Bernafon, Sonic Innovations, Neurelec (cochlear implants, being divested) and Oticon Medical (bone anchored hearing aids)
Audiologist / Hearing aid sales
Audika (Australia, Germany, Denmark, France, Hungary, Italy, New Zealand, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland)
Telex (Brazil)
HearingLife (Canada, United States)
SWTL (China)
Acoustica Medica (Greece, Portugal)
Hidden Hearing (Ireland, United Kingdom)
MTHA (Japan)
Hearing Partners (Malaysia, Singapore)
Van Boxtel (Luxembourg)
Idis (Turkey)
Medton-Hedim (Israel)
Diagnostic instruments
Maico Diagnostics, Interacoustics, Amplivox, Grason-Stadler, and MedRx, Inc.[8]
Personal communication
Phonic Ear, Sennheiser Communications (defunct), EPOS
Instrument dealers
Gordon Stowe & Associates Inc., Northeastern Technologies Group Inc., Midlantic Technologies Group Inc.

References
  1. "History". 2017-07-25. Archived from the original on 2017-07-25. Retrieved 2022-10-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  2. "The Top Management Group That Got Fired – by Itself" (PDF). orgcon.ecomerc.com/. 2004. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  3. "History". 2017-07-25. Archived from the original on 2017-07-25. Retrieved 2022-10-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. Simonsen, Peter (2019-02-19). "William Demant-aktien falder brat". Finans (in Danish). Retrieved 2023-02-28.
  5. Simonsen, Peter (2019-02-19). "William Demant-aktien falder brat". Finans (in Danish). Retrieved 2022-07-25.
  6. Ogg, Matt (2022-04-27). "Cochlear to acquire loss-making Oticon Medical for $170 million". Business News Australia. Archived from the original on 2022-05-17. Retrieved 2022-05-06.
  7. "Demant Announces Full Acquisition of ShengWang". The Hearing Review. 14 June 2022.
  8. "Business Activities". William Demant. Archived from the original on 8 May 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
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