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Sivantos
Sivantos originated in 2015 when EQT and the Strüngmann family acquired Siemens' hearing-aid division, installing Ignacio Martinez as CEO.
Sivantos
Sivantos originated in 2015 when EQT and the Strüngmann family acquired Siemens' hearing-aid division, installing Ignacio Martinez as CEO. The carve-out bundled the Signia, Siemens, Audio Service, and Rexton brands into a standalone entity headquartered in Singapore with major operational hubs in Erlangen, Germany. This structure established Sivantos as one of the world's largest hearing-device manufacturers from day one, combining European engineering pedigree with Asian holding-company architecture. Under Martinez, Sivantos pursued a deep-technology and channel-access strategy aimed at both audiologist-dispensed and over-the-counter hearing segments. The portfolio spanned behind-the-ear, in-the-ear, and completely-in-canal devices, with heavy investment in Bluetooth-enabled and rechargeable lithium-ion platforms. Direct sales forces in markets such as the United States operated alongside distributor networks in emerging Asia and Latin America. A key competitive maneuver was the rollout of the Signia Nx platform, which used beamforming technology to improve speech comprehension in noisy environments — a direct technical challenge to offerings from Sonova and Demant. In 2019, Sivantos merged with Denmark-based Widex to form WS Audiology, a combination that Sivantos's backers and Widex's owners — the Tøpholm and Westermann families — engineered as a merger of equals. The combined entity reported over €1.7 billion in revenue in its first year and employed more than 10,000 people globally (per WS Audiology, 2019). The merger instantly placed the combined group within striking distance of industry leader Sonova, adding Widex's machine-learning-based sound processing and strong Scandinavian distribution to Sivantos's Siemens-origin technology stack. Sivantos functions as the key operational predecessor to today's WS Audiology, making its structural legacy significant for understanding the group's dual-headquarter model. While WS Audiology now formally owns the combined operations, the Sivantos structure in Singapore persists for Asian-market contracting, and the Erlangen campus continues to drive core R&D. The carve-out-to-consolidation path — private-equity acquisition, operational scaling, and strategic merger within four years — represents a blueprint EQT has since replicated in other health-tech carve-outs.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
2015
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
Asia
Country
Singapore
City
Singapore
Corporate office
Singapore, Singapore
Additional offices
Erlangen, Germany
Principals
Ignacio Martinez
CEO
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
What is Sivantos's relationship to WS Audiology?
Sivantos merged with Danish hearing-aid manufacturer Widex in 2019 to form WS Audiology. The merger combined Sivantos's Signia, Rexton, and Siemens-branded devices with Widex's machine-learning-based hearing solutions. WS Audiology now operates as the parent group, making Sivantos a key predecessor entity rather than an ongoing independent firm.
Who owned Sivantos before the Widex merger?
EQT, a Swedish private-equity firm, and the Strüngmann family, who previously built and sold Hexal to Novartis, jointly acquired the Siemens hearing-aid business in 2015 and held ownership through the merger with Widex. Post-merger, EQT and the Strüngmanns remained significant shareholders in the combined WS Audiology entity alongside the Tøpholm and Westermann families.
How large was Sivantos at the time of the Widex merger?
At the time of the 2019 merger, Sivantos and Widex together reported over €1.7 billion in combined revenue and employed more than 10,000 people globally. Individually, Sivantos was widely considered the world's third- or fourth-largest hearing-aid manufacturer, with particular strength in the US and Asian markets.
Which hearing-aid brands did Sivantos control?
Sivantos owned the Signia, Siemens (under license), Audio Service, and Rexton brands. Signia served as the premium audiologist-dispensed line, while Rexton and Audio Service targeted value-conscious and government-tender segments. The Siemens brand was initially retained through a trademark license that has since been phased out in favor of the Signia name.
What was Sivantos's core technological differentiator?
Sivantos advanced beamforming technology through its Signia Nx platform, which used dual-microphone directional processing to isolate speech in noisy environments. This competed directly with Sonova's ear-to-ear streaming and Demant's open sound navigator architectures. The Nx platform also introduced rechargeable lithium-ion batteries across multiple form factors, reducing consumer reliance on disposable zinc-air cells.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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