Sony to Buy Out Ericsson: Mobile Takeover
Sony is looking to buy out its mobile partner Ericsson’s share of mobile phone business, ending a partnership established in 2001. According to reports, Sony is in the advanced stages of finalizing the deal. The deal would give Sony complete control of the Sony Ericsson brand, and would open the door to fully integrate its mobile phone business with rest of its mobile and technology products.
The 50-50 joint venture was established with an aim to create a mobile platform ecosystem and to integrate both their technologies to development of mobile devices. Sony now wants to buy out the 50 percent of the team up owned by Ericsson. WSJ reports both companies have been in discussions for years now, and more than likely, the talks will end up with a buy out. Although the transaction cost is still unclear, analysts estimated that Sony would be paying $1.3 billion to $1.7 billion.
Sony is pushing for the deal, and if the deal is getting materialize then it would be the latest mobile joint venture transaction to jiggle up the mobile industry. Google signed a deal this past August to buy Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion.
The deal would allow Sony to create a tight integration of its mobile products, like smartphones, tablets, and its music and movie business with its gaming consoles, personal computers, and other devices to compete with likes of Apple and Samsung.
Connected devices are the latest buzz now among techies today. Sony already unveiled their SMP-N200 player, which can turn an ordinary TV into a connected TV. Competition is never far, as Microsoft also announced the integration of Xbox 306, Kinect and television offering to provide entertainment experience to consumers.
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