[Editorial] What's happening to Krell Industries? Is a reopening near?

The Krell Industries company, founded in 1980 by Dan D'Agostino together with his wife Rondi, is going through a difficult time. Already in 2009 there had been a clash between the D'Agostinos and the New York private equity fund, KP Capital Partners, which had acquired 40% of the shares of Krell Industries. Due to strong disagreements, Dan D'Agostino then abandoned Krell to found Dan D'Agostino Master Audio Systems. Dan and Rondi divorced in ∼2000 and when Dan left Krell she remained as President and later married Michael Bellas. Rondi died in June 2024 and Michael Bellas died in August 2024 and as an immediate consequence Krell Industries temporarily stopped the production. According to Wil Buhler of the holding company JF Bicking & Co, which owns the 40% of Krell, the reopening of the glorious company is close but neither the Krell Industries website (moved and rebuilt on another domain after a hacker attack) nor the official Krell Facebook page make reference to a possible date. The last official communication dates back to September 30, 2024!

So what happened? Rondi and Michael's majority share of the company passed to an heir who apparently wasn't very co-operative, not accepting JF Bicking offer to buy his/her 60% of Krell. The hearing to solve the troble is currently taking place, during which the appointment of an independent administrator will be requested, if the heir has not yet accepted the purchase offer.

Obviously Krell customers are worried, especially all those who had sent their components to the official service for repairs. In a note, the head of technical service assured that all requests for assistance will still be honoured.

It is sad and worrying to see a glorious brand like Krell facing such uncertain and difficult times, but it is not the first time and it will not be the last for an audio company, given that this field constantly lives in a state of unstable equilibrium. In Krell's case, financial vicissitudes were superimposed on sudden and unexpected mourning events.

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February 2025 Editorial

To Krell or not to Krell?