Zounds Electronics, a Sweden-based consumer electronics producer backed by telecommunications firm TeliaSonera, has secured €10m ($11m) in funding from growth equity firm Time for Growth.
Founded in 2008, Zound produces and sells music hardware including headphones or loudspeakers under a variety of brands in some 20,000 stores across 95 countries.
Time for Growth acquired a stake sized at appproximately 10% through the deal. The investment will enable Zound to diversify and support further expansion as the company prepares to launch its first smartphone in London next week.
TeliaSonera invested an undisclosed amount in Zound in May 2014 in conjunction with a partnership that enabled TeliaSonera to bundle the company’s products with its mobile phone subscriptions.
Zound’sother shareholders are co-founders Konrad Bergström and Kenneth Schönborg, and private equity and venture capital firm Varenne Investment.
Pernilla Ekman, chief executive of Zound, said: “We are very excited to have Time Equity Partners on board. Last year was an all-time high for us, and the forecast for 2015 is showing continued growth.
“We are currently in our perhaps most exciting period so far, with major new product launches during the summer and fall, in addition to the smartphone project.”