AMX Parent Duchossois Acquires Chief and Sanus

Milestone AV, parent company of leading mount manufacturers Chief and Sanus, withdraws IPO before announcement of Duchossois acquisition. The

Duchossois Group has acquired Milestone AV Technologies, the company formed via the merger of Chief and Sanus, leading producers of mounting solutions (see chart below).

The acquisition adds another custom A/V brand to the Duchossois portfolio, which includes AMX (automation), Autopatch (A/V switching), and Matrix (multiroom audio).

Since Duchossois acquired AMX in March 2005 for $315 million, we have speculated that the privately held company would join the likes Nortek , D&M and Legrand in a quest to collect top custom electronics brands.

In fact, Duchossois has taken its time getting into the market.

Through AMX, the company acquired Autopatch -- a leading switcher manufacturer--at the end of 2006, and the much smaller Matrix Audio shortly thereafter.