If the story is exactly as told, it could very well be any third-party company. The issue with some of the ones already mentioned is that they don't currently offer any comparable or even interesting products. NAD has nothing. Parasound has nothing. Anthem isn't exactly a company with a lot of clout in retail, they're just overpriced boutique. But regardless of who it may be, this is just a case of someone protecting their own investment. Nothing anti-competitive about it. But the very nature of competition, of competing, is not to foster a competitive playing field. It's to win. To come out ahead. Yes, it's surprising that such a decision would come so late in the game, but no one outside the parties directly involved knows the details, so it's going to be very difficult to even speculate as to why.