14 DAY TRIAL // Today, Sony has announced that it has completed the purchase of Sony Ericsson, the joint venture it formed in collaboration with infrastructure provider Ericsson.
In fact, Sony has completed the purchase of Ericsson’s stake in the joint venture, as part of a deal that was announced back in October. Following the completion of this transaction, Sony Ericsson has become a subsidiary of Sony.
“Sony Corporation ("Sony") today announced that the transaction to acquire Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson's ("Ericsson") 50% stake in Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB ("Sony Ericsson") has been completed as of February 15, 2012 (Central European time),” Sony announced in a press release.
“This marks the completion of the transaction jointly announced by Sony and Ericsson on October 27, 2011, and makes Sony Ericsson a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony.”
Sony plans on changing the handset vendor’s name to “Sony Mobile Communications,” and will integrate the mobile phone business as “a vital element of its electronics business.”
Moreover, the electronics giant announced that it was focused on “accelerating convergence between Sony's lineup of network enabled consumer electronics products, including smart phones, tablets, TVs and PCs.”
Ericsson has also made an announcement on the matter, saying that it has completed the divestment of its 50 percent stake in Sony Ericsson.
“The agreed cash consideration for the transaction is EUR 1.05 billion. Ericsson's gain on the transaction will be approximately SEK 7.5 billion and will be reported in the first quarter result on April 25, 2012, as 'Other operating income' in the income statement,” the Swedish company also noted.
Under the Sony brand, Sony Ericsson is expected to continue releasing smartphones in the Xperia lineup. In fact, the company has already launched two of these in January at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, and is expected to release more of them in Barcelona at the Mobile World Congress 2012.