Magnavox
Magnavox (Latin for "great voice", stylized as MAGNAVOX or sometimes Magnavox in Australia) was an American electronics company. It was purchased by North American Philips in 1974,[1] which was absorbed into Dutch electronics company Philips in 1991. The predecessor to Magnavox was founded in 1911 by Edwin Pridham and Peter L. Jensen, co-inventors of the moving-coil loudspeaker at their lab in Napa, California, under United States Patent number 1,105,924 for telephone receivers.[2] Six decades later, Magnavox produced the Odyssey, the world's first home video game console.
Company type
Subsidiary
1917
Napa, California, U.S.
Edwin Pridham
Peter L. Jensen
Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.
Odyssey and its successors
TVs
Speakers
Blu-ray and DVD players
Dehumidifiers
Heaters
Air conditioners
Headphones
Batteries
On January 29, 2013, it was announced that Philips had agreed to sell its audio and video operations to the Japan-based Funai Electric for €150 million, with the audio business planned to transfer to Funai in the latter half of 2013, and the video business in 2017.[3][4][5] As part of the transaction, Funai was to pay a regular licensing fee to Philips for the use of the Philips brand.[4] The purchase agreement was terminated by Philips in October because of breach of contract[6] and the consumer electronics operations remain under Philips. Philips said it would seek damages for breach of contract in the US$200-million sale.[7] In April 2016, the International Court of Arbitration ruled in favour of Philips, awarding compensation of €135 million in the process.[8] Magnavox brand name products are currently made by Funai under license from trademark owner Philips.[9]