Corsair Pursuing an Acquisition of Fanatec, the Leading Brand for Sim Racing Hardware

[VSG]

Corsair announced today that it has entered exclusive negotiations to acquire sim racing specialist Endor AG, owners of the world famous Fanatec brand. Corsair has reached an agreement with Endor to fund its short-term cash needs while both companies negotiate a restructuring of Endor's approximately €70 million of debt, which will ultimately result in Corsair acquiring Endor. "Fanatec is an incredible brand with a strong community, and we believe Corsair is the ideal home for Fanatec's loyal customers, employees and business partners," said Corsair CEO, Andy Paul. "This transaction would solve the company's significant debt load and position the company for growth and continued product portfolio expansion."

This sentiment is echoed by Endor. "We are very pleased to have found a strategic investor in Corsair who knows our market well and wants to invest for the long term," said Andres Ruff, CEO and Chief Restructuring Officer of Endor. Endor is a leading manufacturer of dedicated sim racing hardware, including force feedback steering wheels, pedals, and complete cockpits for PlayStation, Xbox, and PC-based racing simulators. This acquisition bolsters the investment Corsair has made in the simulation space, and means it is uniquely positioned going forward to provide peerless sim racing solutions.



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[Dammeron]

Oh god no... Imagine pesky RGB making it into sim racing hardware...

 

[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

Oh god no... Imagine pesky RGB making it into sim racing hardware...

Uh no. Imagine turning it off?

 

[AsRock]

Uh no. Imagine turning it off?

Paying more for name and RGB and you don't even use the rgb.

 

[Camm]

Interesting, the Fanatec board was currently in a fight with its majority shareholder and ex-ceo and trying to devalue the company to let an investment company buy it for pennies on the dollar from its existing shareholders. I wonder how Corsair fits into this picture?

 

[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

Paying more for name and RGB and you don't even use the rgb.

it's not even that much more.

 

[kapone32]

Icue software to calibrate your wheel and pedals. No thanks.

 

[AsRock]

it's not even that much more.

Yes whats another $20-50 on a each item.

 

[rv8000]

Oh a company/products for corsair to cheapen… great

 

[Blurpy]

Whos Ready for RGB Wheels!

 

[AusWolf]

Oh my, what has the world become?

 

[AnarchoPrimitiv]

Yes whats another $20-50 on a each item.

Corsair will do this anyway...it's called the "Corsair Tax" everything Corsair makes is more expensive (I refuse to buy anything from them after getting an M65 mouse a few years back an having be the biggest P.O.S. imaginable)

 

[AVATARAT]

So sad news

 

[Random_User]

"Corsair Tax" everything Corsair makes is more expensive

This is on top of the existing own Fanatec's quite hefty tax. Yes, they have nice stuff. But the prices are ridiculous, and this is aplicable to all sim-racing hardware and brands (yes, this is clear, that the servomotor alone can cost a grand or two, the design is not cheap, and the price of materials alone is high, but..). And one of the reason for this is the proprietary tech. Yes, each company has onw interesting approach, and it can be this way. But there should be some standard, and interchangeability, between various brands, so there is possibility to sue Fanatec's wheel on Simucube's, or Thrusmasters's, etc base, and even adapters to use them on kits with bare motor shafts, eg like OSW or SimSteering. But knowing Corsair, it's not going anywhere soon, if at all.

 

[theglaze]

If this goes through, I think it's good news for everyone. Fanatec's best business trait is innovation: FFB pedals, quick release wheels, integrated rev LED, etc. But it always dropped the ball with manufacturing quality and customer service. The massive jump in demand during the Covid boom made a classic example of Fanatec: too much sales growth can actually hinder a company as that pressure stresses the weakest parts of its operations. Even innovation was stymied during Fanatec's highest revenue years.

Corsair's expertise (besides RGB) is providing the guidence and resources to take a manufacturer to the next level and help it overcome it's shortcomings.

Interesting, the Fanatec board was currently in a fight with its majority shareholder and ex-ceo and trying to devalue the company to let an investment company buy it for pennies on the dollar from its existing shareholders. I wonder how Corsair fits into this picture?

It also sounded like the German government caught wind of them fixing the books to create those insane golden parachutes. So a Corsair buyout is attractive to those greedy executives who will at least get something.

 

[Veseleil]

Oh no, Fanatec was part of my future plans...

 

[Synthwave]

Oh no, Fanatec was part of my future plans...

View attachment 346707View attachment 346708

You act like it's gonna change anything.

 

[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

You act like it's gonna change anything.

People are freaking out over potential RGB like boomers.

 

[Veseleil]

People lack sense of humour these days. And no, it's not the RGB, it's the potential of having high probability of Fanatec's integration into Corsair ecosystem, which mandates proprietary garbage software (spyware). Not to mention Corsair tax slapped onto already overpriced product stack. The only good thing that could come of this I can imagine, is the better availability in the countries where Fanatec was unavailable.

 

[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

The reason Fanatec is getting bought out by Corsair is because it is €70m in debt. So they either go under or get bought out. Looks like they chose the latter.

 

[sLowEnd]

The reason Fanatec is getting bought out by Corsair is because it is €70 in debt. So they either go under or get bought out. Looks like they chose the latter.

Only €70?
I jest

 

[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

Only €70?
I jest

Lol error on my part for sure! I fixed it.

 

[Dammeron]

This is on top of the existing own Fanatec's quite hefty tax. Yes, they have nice stuff. But the prices are ridiculous, and this is aplicable to all sim-racing hardware and brands (yes, this is clear, that the servomotor alone can cost a grand or two, the design is not cheap, and the price of materials alone is high, but..). And one of the reason for this is the proprietary tech. Yes, each company has onw interesting approach, and it can be this way. But there should be some standard, and interchangeability, between various brands, so there is possibility to sue Fanatec's wheel on Simucube's, or Thrusmasters's, etc base, and even adapters to use them on kits with bare motor shafts, eg like OSW or SimSteering. But knowing Corsair, it's not going anywhere soon, if at all.

Fanatec had a promo for more than a year where You could buy a CSL DD base for 200€ if paired with any wheel and pedals, which makes it a pretty cheap DD option.

As for the compatibility - it's normal that every sim racing brand has it's own hardware and drivers. You can buy 3D printed adapters to fit different wheels on bases of Fanatec, Moza, Simucube etc., but what about the software? If You're looking for widespread standards, there is one - the one for force feedback effects. That's why multiple different brand of wheelsets can work in all those racing games. But that standard is a bit old (more than 20yo), so new ones, like Log Truforce, or Fanatec Fullforce came to be. And this becomes a real problem - similar to physics and raytracing engines for nV and AMD cards - proprietary FFB standards...

 

[Kyan]

Fanatec had a promo for more than a year where You could buy a CSL DD base for 200€ if paired with any wheel and pedals, which makes it a pretty cheap DD option.

As for the compatibility - it's normal that every sim racing brand has it's own hardware and drivers. You can buy 3D printed adapters to fit different wheels on bases of Fanatec, Moza, Simucube etc., but what about the software? If You're looking for widespread standards, there is one - the one for force feedback effects. That's why multiple different brand of wheelsets can work in all those racing games. But that standard is a bit old (more than 20yo), so new ones, like Log Truforce, or Fanatec Fullforce came to be. And this becomes a real problem - similar to physics and raytracing engines for nV and AMD cards - proprietary FFB standards...

The CSL DD at 200€ with a wheel is still an existing offer. I'm actually in the process of choosing my gear, and I don't know which brand to go toor which one to mix.

 

[unwind-protect]

I always though Fanatec products are both overpriced and often junky.