Rumours of this coming to pass have been floating around for quite some time, but now, the two companies have officially announced the deed – Sony has bought out Ericsson’s share of their joint venture, Sony Ericsson, for a paltry sum of $1.46 billon. The deal is expected to be completed in January 2012.
The two companies had joined hands back in 2001, and had seen much success initially in their 10-year long partnership with devices like the Walkman phones and Cybershot inspired cameraphones. Slowing down, the joint venture once again saw solid growth in the past two years, when it decided say goodbye to Symbian, and start using the popular Google Android OS.
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The broad cross-licensing deal will give Sony Corporation full ownership of Ericsson’s patents and intellectual property in the sphere, and vice versa. The deal will allow Sony to compete on a more even footing with other mobile manufacturers, giving it the full share of profits instead of just a part, and, the ability to properly integrate its varied consumer electronic products in a single ecosystem. It will purportedly also allow Ericsson to concentrate better on its wireless telecommunication technology.
Speaking on the need for a deal, Sony’s CEO Sir Howard Stringer said:
“This acquisition makes sense for Sony and Ericsson, and it will make the difference for consumers. We can more rapidly and more widely offer consumers smartphones, laptops, tablets and televisions that seamlessly connect with one another and open up new worlds of online entertainment.”
Source: Wall Street Journal