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Turtle Beach makes moves into streaming and podcasting with Neat Microphones acquisition

Gaming accessory company Turtle Beach has acquired microphone manufacturer Neat Microphones, known for their eclectic products.

Founded by Skipper Wise, Neat Microphones has become known for its high-quality yet affordable microphones, especially those with a distinctive bee-themed aesthetic.

Turtle Beach – which is publicly traded on NASDAQ under the stock ticker symbol HEAR – has become one of the leading gaming audio brands, with several esports and official game sponsorships under its belt. It acquired German computer accessories company Roccat in 2019 for US$19.2 million.

Turtle Beach Neat
Image: WorthPoint

In a press release, a “thrilled” Turtle Beach CEO Juergen Stark stated:

We are entering the growing global streaming and microphone market with two significant advantages – the visionary leadership and engineering expertise behind some of the most renowned mics of the past 30-plus years, and Neat‘s impressive 2021 product lineup.”

Turtle Beach estimates that the acquisition will increase its addressable market by a whopping US$2.3 billion through access to Neat’s industry-leading technology.

Neat Microphones president Skipper Wise was also “thrilled” with the move, highlighting the importance of microphones in a post-COVID/video conferencing world:

“2020 showed all of us… the importance of our voices being heard more than ever before… We’re also currently developing the next generation of our products to meet the growing demand for high-quality, affordable microphones.”

It will be interesting to see how this acquisition will affect Turtle Beach’s existing line of products, considering its mass adoption across the gaming community. As for Neat, its products have garnered attention for being affordable and high-quality options.

The company – founded by Wise and Martins Saulseperens in 2014 – was born out of the duo selling their previous company, Blue Microphones, to Logitech in July 2018 for US$117 million.