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Amplifon Strikes Deal to Buy GN Hearing in $2.64 B Transaction
Amplifon has announced plans to acquire GN Hearing in a US$2.64 billion deal that could reshape the global hearing care and hearing aid market.)
Veröffentlicht am Mar 16, 2026
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Amplifon announced today that it has entered into a “definitive agreement” to acquire GN Hearing from GN Store Nord in a deal valued at about €2.3 billion (US$2.64 B) on a cash-free, debt-free basis. Amplifon is the world’s largest pure-play hearing aid retailer, with most of its devices dispensed under the Amplifon or Miracle Ear brands. Traditionally, it has avoided manufacturing hearing aids. HearingTracker estimates GN Hearing is the fourth-largest hearing aid company in the world and manufactures ReSound, Jabra Enhance, and Beltone hearing aids. It is also one of Amplifon’s major external suppliers, alongside other leading global manufacturers including Starkey, Sonova, and Demant.
Related article: Will the Amplifon-GN Deal Redraw the U.S. Hearing Aid Map?
If completed—and there are several potential roadblocks and alternatives still in play—the transaction would combine the world’s largest hearing care retailer with one of the industry’s top hearing aid manufacturers and tech innovators, creating a more vertically integrated company spanning product development, distribution, and patient care. The combined group would have approximately €3.3 billion ($3.79 B) in revenue and operations in more than 100 countries, according to the companies.
Susan Carol Holland, Amplifon ChairpersonToday we celebrate the realization of a dream that strengthens our ambition: to integrate technology and innovation with our deep understanding of patients for the benefit of hearing care professionals and the people they serve with empathy and dedication. This milestone allows us to pursue even more effectively the mission with which my family founded Amplifon over 75 years ago, and has guided its growth ever since: to provide outstanding care to a growing number of people, helping them rediscover the full emotions of sound and live their lives to the fullest.
The €2.3 billion transaction would likely rank as the largest straight acquisition in hearing industry history, although it would still be smaller than the 2018 Sivantos-Widex merger by overall transaction value.
Under the terms announced, GN Store Nord would receive €1.69 billion ($1.94 B) in cash and 56 million Amplifon shares at closing, making GN a strategic shareholder in Amplifon. The acquisition has been approved by the boards of both companies and is expected to close by the end of 2026, subject to customary conditions, including required regulatory approvals and the carve-out of GN Hearing from the broader GN Group.
From GN’s perspective, the sale is also a strategic reset. In its own announcement, it said the transaction will allow it to focus on audio and video peripherals, where it sees room to expand as a more streamlined technology company built around premium brands, sound-processing expertise, and low-power edge AI. GN also said the proceeds should exceed its net interest-bearing debt, allowing it to reduce leverage, invest in the remaining business, and potentially return capital to shareholders.
Amplifon says the transaction is a strategic move that strengthens its position in the hearing care market, which is experiencing increased demand for advanced hearing solutions. By combining GN Hearing’s product-development capabilities with Amplifon’s global clinic footprint and clinical expertise, the company said it expects to broaden the range of solutions available to patients and hearing care professionals.
The company also said it has already identified €60 million to €80 million (≈$69-$92 MM) in net EBITDA synergies by the end of 2029, with most of those gains expected to come from volume insourcing. Amplifon added that there may be additional synergy opportunities that have not yet been quantified.
According to the announcement, the deal is expected to be accretive to revenue growth, profitability, and earnings. To fund the cash portion of the acquisition, Amplifon said it will use a bridge loan, which it plans to refinance over time through a combination of debt and equity and/or equity-linked instruments. The company said pro-forma net debt to adjusted EBITDA is expected to be about 3.0x at closing, excluding net synergies and assuming up to €0.75 billion ($860 MM) from a future equity raise.
“Today marks a turning point for Amplifon,” said Amplifon CEO Enrico Vita in a press statement. “We are announcing the most transformative acquisition in our 75-year-long history, that will fundamentally change the future of the hearing care industry worldwide and create significant and long-term value for all our stakeholders. With combined revenues of approximately €3.3 billion, a presence in more than 100 countries, a cutting-edge R&D platform, leading manufacturing capabilities, and an unparalleled commercial network, we will be forming a truly global vertically integrated leader in audiology.
“At a time of significant technological advancements, this combination positions us to set new and higher standards in the audiology industry and allows us to better capture the secular growth trends.
“By bringing together two highly complementary organizations, we will unlock significant value for shareholders also thanks to material synergies, create new opportunities for employees, and deliver more advanced solutions to customers, hearing care professionals and patients worldwide.
“We look forward to working closely with the exceptional team at GN Hearing to improve hearing health for millions of people globally.”
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Amplifon said the proposed acquisition would build on its long-standing relationship with GN Hearing and combine two businesses with distinct yet complementary strengths. In the company’s view, the deal would pair GN Hearing’s product development, manufacturing, and audiology technology capabilities with Amplifon’s clinical expertise, retail reach, and patient data, creating a more integrated hearing care company with broader global scale.
Amplifon also said it intends to preserve GN Hearing’s identity, brands, and core capabilities within the combined organization. According to the press release, the larger group would have about €3.3 billion ($3.8 B) in combined revenue, more than 20,000 employees, over 700 R&D professionals, and a patent portfolio of over 2,800 patents, with operations spanning more than 100 countries.
Peter Karlströmer, GN Group CEOWe are today acting on an opportunity to create a global leader in hearing care together with Amplifon. Together we are well positioned to develop into an industry leader, driving further innovation and benefits to our industry. For GN, this also creates an opportunity to strengthen our position in the large and attractive audio and video peripherals markets. We have unique brands, talents and capabilities, and a rich set of opportunities. This is very exciting for GN’s customers, investors, and employees working in Hearing and the rest of GN.
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GN Hearing’s portfolio includes ReSound, Beltone, Interton, Danavox, Jabra Enhance, and Danalogic. Amplifon said GN Hearing’s engineering base and manufacturing footprint in Denmark, China, Malaysia, and the United States provide a strong foundation for product innovation. For fiscal 2025, GN Hearing reported revenue of DKK 7.2 billion ($1.1B) and pro forma, carved-out adjusted EBITDA of about €220 million ($252.5 MM), with roughly half (49%) of revenue coming from the Americas, 28% from Europe, and 23% from the rest of the world.
GN said the sale involves about 5,500 employees worldwide, the ReSound and Beltone businesses and related hearing brands, all hearing-related IP, R&D, manufacturing, and operations, as well as Beltone network partnerships. However, GN said the deal does not include its current financial investment in NationsBenefits LLC, which is about 19%, according to an informed source.
Amplifon states in its press release that the strategic case for the transaction rests on several factors:
Amplifon said most of the identified synergies would come from bringing more hearing aid volume in-house. One-time integration costs are expected to total about €80 million over the first 2-3 years after closing.
Based on 2025 results, Amplifon said the combined business would generate pro-forma adjusted EBITDA of about €830 million ($952.5 MM), including expected run-rate synergies, with a margin of roughly 25%. The company added that the transaction is expected to improve revenue growth, profitability, and earnings, while also creating a more balanced mix between retail and service revenue on one side and technology and product revenue on the other.
GN said its board and executive management had received several unsolicited expressions of interest in recent years and ultimately chose Amplifon’s bid after what it described as an extensive evaluation process, citing both the financial terms and the perceived certainty of closing.
The deal would make GN Amplifon's second-largest shareholder, with an approximately 16% stake on a pro-forma basis assuming the planned equity raise. GN noted that if no equity raise is completed, its ownership at closing would be about 19.8%. The shares are also expected to be subject to customary lock-up and transfer restrictions.
Amplifon said pro-forma net debt to adjusted EBITDA at closing would be around 3.0x, excluding synergies, and that the new group is expected to deleverage over the following 2 to 3 years through cash generation. The transaction is still expected to close by the end of 2026, subject to regulatory and antitrust approvals, as well as completion of the carve-out needed to separate GN Hearing from the broader GN Group. The companies also said GN and Ampliter (Amplifon's controlling shareholder) are expected to enter into a shareholders’ agreement that would give GN the right to nominate a representative to Amplifon’s board.
The transaction still faces several important hurdles before it can close. In addition to customary regulatory and antitrust approvals, GN Hearing must first be separated from the broader GN Group through a carve-out process. GN said that separation will involve a statutory demerger under Danish company law, highlighting that the transaction is more complex than a straightforward sale.
Another factor worth watching is GN’s shareholder base. Demant—the parent company of Oticon and a major hearing care retailer through HearingLife, Hidden Hearing, and KIND—is GN’s largest shareholder, with roughly 12% of shares and votes. While GN’s board has approved the transaction, Demant’s position as both a major shareholder and an industry competitor adds another element to watch as the deal moves forward.
Editor's note: An earlier version of this article included WSA as a major supplier of Amplifon.
Karl Strom ist der Chefredakteur von HearingTracker. Er war Gründungsredakteur von The Hearing Review und berichtet seit über 30 Jahren über die Hörhilfenindustrie.