Pioneer Targets Acquisitions to Bolster Auto Strategy

Pioneer Corp. tells the Nikkei it plans to form partnerships and make acquisitions to strengthen its new and exclusively automotive focus.

Earlier this month Pioneer agreed to sell 85% of its consumer electronics operations to Onkyo Corp. The company also is selling its disk jockey equipment business to an affiliate of U.S. investor group Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.

The radical plan announced by the company on Nov. 7 aims to boost annual revenue 13% to 395 billion yen ($3.3 billion) in the calendar year beginning next April 1. Pioneer also hopes to establish an operating profit margin of at least 5% for the period.

President Susumu Kotani tells The Nikkei that Pioneer's management concluded the entire company would collapse unless it shed the two nonautomotive units. The new strategy is to use acquisitions to bolster Panasonic's expertise in such areas as camera systems and other technologies for autonomous vehicles.