STAMFORD – HARMAN International has agreed to acquire the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems business of ZF Group for more than $1.5 billion, the company announced Dec. 23.
The Samsung Electronics subsidiary that designs and engineers connected audio products and solutions for automotive, consumer, and enterprise markets has a corporate office at 400 Atlantic St. 4th Floor.
With this acquisition, HARMAN said it has secured strategic inroads in the ADAS and central compute platforms markets, reinforcing a foundation that anchors and advances its role in the fast-growing software-defined vehicle market.
By integrating ZF’s ADAS capabilities with HARMAN’s flagship digital cockpit offerings within a centralized compute design, the acquisition bolsters the company’s roadmap for next-generation vehicle architectures.
“The industry is at an inflection point where safety, intelligence, and in-cabin experience must come together through a unified computing architecture,” said Christian Sobottka, CEO and president, Automotive Division, HARMAN. “With this agreement, we take a strategic step to expand our portfolio with complementary ADAS capabilities that unlock a new class of cross-domain experiences ranging from perception-informed audio cues to more personalized, situation-aware driving.”
ZF Group CEO Mathias Miedreich described the importance of the deal to his company’s financial future.
“With HARMAN, we have found the ideal partner to fully unlock the growth and innovation potential of our ADAS business,” Miedreich said. “At the same time, this deal makes an important contribution to reducing our company’s debt and allows us to focus our resources on the core technologies in which ZF is a global leader.”
Young Sohn, chair of HARMAN’s board and senior advisor, Samsung Electronics, spoke of the importance of HARMAN to Samsung.
“Samsung has a successful record of strategic acquisitions that accelerate innovation and expand what’s possible for our customers,” Sohn said. “Since acquiring HARMAN in 2017, the company has scaled its automotive and audio business from $7 billion to more than $11 billion today. Adding ZF’s ADAS capabilities builds on that momentum. HARMAN will further expand its technology foundation to deliver safer, more intelligent, and more intuitive in-vehicle experiences.”
As part of the agreement, approximately 3,750 ZF employees across Europe, the Americas and Asia are expected to transition to HARMAN upon closing of the transaction. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to receiving necessary regulatory approvals.
HARMAN plans to integrate ZF’s ADAS capabilities into its centralized compute and digital cockpit roadmap, enabling OEMs to deploy more scalable, safety-integrated vehicle architectures. The companies will maintain strong support for existing programs while aligning engineering, ADAS and compute teams to accelerate innovation for next-generation platforms.
