, Columnist
Bring On the Piano Players for a Steinway Auction
A Chinese deal with the Paulson-owned firm isn’t a certainty.
Get ready for a fight for bench space.
Photographer: D. Dipasupil/Getty Images
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There was a predictable auction for Steinway Musical Instruments Inc. when it was bought in 2013 by John Paulson, the U.S. hedge fund billionaire. If the iconic piano maker is set to change hands once again, the presence of a seemingly unassailable Chinese bidder is unlikely to scare others from trying hard to buy it.
Steinway has attracted interest from state-backed conglomerate China Poly Group Corp. and could fetch $1 billion, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday. That's roughly double what Paulson & Co. paid five years ago when it saw off private equity and South Korea's Samick Musical Instruments Co.