Sony announced its intent to acquire Ericsson’s share of Sony Ericsson, to make Sony Ericsson a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony.
Sony then wants to integrate that into its own platform of network-connected consumer electronic products.
PlayStation Network anyone?
“This acquisition makes sense for Sony and Ericsson, and it will make the difference for consumers, who want to connect with content wherever they are, whenever they want,” said Sony President and CEO Sir Howard Stringer. “With a vibrant smartphone business and by gaining access to important strategic IP, notably a broad cross-license agreement, our four-screen strategy is in place. 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. This includes Sony’s own acclaimed network services, like the PlayStation Network and Sony Entertainment Network.”
Stringer added that the acquisition will afford Sony operational efficiencies in engineering, network development and marketing (among other areas).
“We can help people enjoy all our content – from movies to music and games – through our many devices, in a way no one else can,” he said.
Ericsson President and CEO Hans Vestberg said “Ten years ago when we formed the joint venture, thereby combining Sony’s consumer products knowledge with Ericsson’s telecommunication technology expertise, it was a perfect match to drive the development of feature phones. Today we take an equally logical step as Sony acquires our stake in Sony Ericsson and makes it a part of its broad range of consumer devices. We will now enhance our focus on enabling connectivity for all devices, using our R&D and industry leading patent portfolio to realize a truly connected world.”
The transaction awaits regulatory approvals, but has been approved by the “appropriate decision-making bodies of both companies”. The two companies expect the deal to close in January.