Finnish outdoor adventure equipment manufacturer Suunto, long a popular choice with UK scuba divers for its dive-computer ranges, is being sold on to a Chinese technology company.
Suunto’s parent company Amer Sports, which has run the 85-year-old brand for the past 18 years, has agreed to sell it to Liesheng of Guangdong, which focuses on smart and sport wearable electronics, with the transition expected to be completed before midsummer. The value of the deal has not been disclosed.
In fact Suunto has already been under Chinese ownership for the past three years, Amer Sports having been sold to another Chinese conglomerate, ANTA Sports, at the end of 2018.
Founded in 2015, Liesheng currently operates in 100 countries. Suunto says that it is ranked top globally in the wireless audio field, and offers the Haylou product line.
Suunto CEO Heikki Norta has assured users that its products and services will “continue normally” and that the company will still be based in Vantaa in Finland. “We stay committed and focused on developing our high-end products, inspiring adventurous life-style and on protecting our playground,” he says.
“In the long run, partnering with our new owners will broaden our shoulders in the continued development of new fit-for-purpose products for outdoor enthusiasts… We make a great fit as our operations, markets and products complement each other.”
Suunto was founded in 1936 when Finnish orienteer Tuomas Vohlonen came up with a new way of manufacturing liquid‐filled compasses. Today it employs more than 300 people worldwide, making not only dive-computers but sports watches, compasses and other precision instruments. Find out more about its products here.
