In unexpected news today, HP and HyperX (formerly a division of Kingston) jointly released a statement that HP will acquire the HyperX portfolio of gaming peripherals and the brand for $ 425 million USD. Kingston will retain the DRAM, Flash and SSD products (those with the HyperX brand name will likely be renamed). Perhaps it is an indication that Kingston wants to continue to focus on the memory and storage markets and move away from a variable commodity market, while at the same time strengthening HP’s presence in the space alongside its HP OMEN brand.
Pending review by regulatory authorities, the deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021, with the acquisition contributing to non-GAAP for HP in the first full year. The range of HyperX peripherals, which include gaming headsets, microphones, keyboards, mouse pads, mice, power supplies, console accessories and apparel, are expected to be used by HP’s wider gaming ecosystem to explore potential add-ons for its OMEN series of gaming. expand. desktops and laptops, and build that ecosystem for hardware, software and services too.
HyperX as a brand has always been a separate element, somewhat separate from Kingston – for the past few years we had separate meetings for each company at each trade show we attended, while ten years ago we would discuss both in the same space. Of course, this split of the company allowed Kingston to pack it up if it ever had to unload, as it has now done with HP. Kingston still retains the gaming-focused RGB-laden DRAM and SSD businesses, although these will likely be sold under Kingston or a separate new brand that we’ll learn about in due course. It’s unclear whether HyperX sponsorships of eSports teams are also part of the deal, whether they will be transferred to HP, or whether they will remain with Kingston.
In the press release, HP cites that the PC hardware industry will have an addressable market of $ 70 billion by 2023, with the global peripherals (gaming and non-gaming) market growing to $ 12.4 billion by 2024. HP states that gaming peripherals will grow to $ 12.4 billion by 2024. Is a disproportionate element of that year-over-year growth, and that HyperX’s brand recognition will help HP’s leadership in personal systems. by modernizing and expanding computing experiences into valuable adjacent areas’. In non-business language, that simply means that HP sees collective value in enabling its own systems with top brand accessories to enhance the overall experience. At a price, of course, although there will no doubt be some synergies as HP can shut down some of its own HP OMEN peripherals that may not have had major distribution.
As the deal is expected to close in the second quarter, it will be interesting to see if HP does a brand reorganization with HyperX, such as ‘HyperX by HP’, or leave it as it is. If we get more information, we will add it to this news item.
Source: https://press.hp.com/us/en/press-releases/2021/hp-inc-to-acquire-hyperx.html