Playbill News: Piano Maker Bösendorfer Sold

[Kent Swafford]

Piano Maker Bösendorfer Sold

By Matthew Westphal
November 19, 2007

The fabled Austrian piano manufacturer Bösendorfer has been sold for  
just under €11 million, according to the Austrian national broadcaster  
ORF and Deutsche Presse-Agentur. The purchaser, Brodmann Pianos of  
Vienna, beat out rival Yamaha Pianos of Japan.

Bösendorfer — whose instruments have been considered to rank at the  
highest level of quality, alongside those of Steinway, Bechstein and  
Pleyel — has been struggling financially in recent years, with a loss  
of €2 million in 2006 and accumulated debt of €8 million, according to  
DPA.

The Austrian banking group BAWAG acquired Bösendorfer in 2001 for  
about US$25 million; the sale of the piano maker follows the purchase  
of BAWAG by the US hedge fund Cerberus earlier this year.

Brodmann Pianos was founded by Joseph Brodmann, who was the teacher of  
Ignaz Bösendorfer. The apprentice acquired his master's company and  
created Bösendorfer Pianos in 1828 (though the two firms subsequently  
split). Brodmann's current chief, Christian Höferl, is a former  
Bösendorfer sales executive.

According to DPA, Bösendorfer staff demanded guarantees that  
manufacturing operations would not be moved abroad, maintaining that  
the Austrian provenance of the company's pianos is an integral part of  
their identity.


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