Akai's ownership story centers around Hong Kong.
Akai is a Japanese electronics manufacturer. The company was founded in the 1920s, but has since changed ownership and location. Historically, the company produced products under a number of brand names and it was, at one time, known for the quality of its tape decks, amplifiers and speakers. As of 2011, the Akai brand name is used on other manufacturers' electronic products and is owned by Grande Holdings.
Ownership
Akai Electric Company Ltd was founded in Tokyo, Japan by Saburo Akai in 1929. Akai produced hi-fi products under its own brand name but also sold under the Tensai brand in Europe and the Roberts brand in the United States. In 1999, Akai became a subsidiary of Chinese company Grande Holdings Ltd. Grande's brand portfolio also includes Japanese electronics brands Nakamichi and Sansui, and U.S. consumer electronics brand, Emerson. However, the story of how Grande acquired Akai is a controversial one.
Semi-Tech Microelectronics
In 2000, James Henry Ting, chairman of the Akai subsidiary, based in Hong Kong was charged with falsifying Akai's accounts by about $38 million. Ting disappeared when the company racked up debts of over $1 billion, leaving many Hong Kong banks and investors in chaos. Ting, who started out with a company Semi-Tech Microelectronics, had been acquiring a stable of household electronics brand names throughout the 1980s, including Singer Sewing Machine Co. This purchase gave him credibility and expanded Semi-Tech's distribution network. Acquiring Akai Holdings, which already had 160 subsidiaries, made the Semi-Tech empire even more labyrinthine and impenetrable.
Asian Crisis
The financial crisis in the Asian markets between 1997 and 1998 led to a steep decline in consumer electronics sales in the region. This hit Akai hard. According to "Business Week," Singer filed for bankruptcy protection in the New York court, which revealed some curious transactions between Singer and Akai. Reports show that Singer paid over $150 million to Akai, which Ting saw as his flagship company. Added to this, accounts showed that Akai had taken a further $1.1 billion out of Akai in stock and bond issues. In 1999, accounts show Akai assets totaling $2.3 billion had mysteriously disappeared by the end of that year, according to "Bloomberg" and "Business Week."
Grande Holdings Ltd.
Grande Holdings Ltd., formed in 1999, acquired Akai's assets. Its founders, Stanley Ho and Christopher Ho are both prior business associates of Ting. Akai's creditors learned of the new ownership in September, 2000. According to "Bloomberg," in 2009, Grande Holdings reached a settlement agreement with the liquidator representing Akai's creditors. The Akai brand still appears on a range of electronics goods and is now based in Singapore. Grande Holding's 2010 annual report indicates that it still owns Akai.
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