Sony’s acquisition of 50 percent stakes of Ericsson in the Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications was finally completed yesterday. The acquisition was announced back in October last year. Also, it has resulted in the handset business becoming the wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony, which has now been renamed as Sony Mobile Communications.
The transaction requires Sony to pay up EUR 1.05 billion in cash to Ericsson. This approximately SEK 7.5 billion will be reported in the Q1 2012 results of the company that will be released on April 25. It will fall under the ‘other operating income’ category.
“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. 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,” commented Sir Howard Stringer, Sony’s Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President while announcing the divestment in October.
Apparently, the acquisition is expected to bring about better operational efficiency in network development as well as other areas like engineering and marketing for Sony. The joint venture had introduced a number of mobile devices and smartphones under the Walkman, Xperia and some other series. Sony independently released its first set of devices during the CES 2012 dubbed Sony Xperia S and Xperia ion amongst others.
The IP cross-licensing agreement also forms a part of the acquisition of Ericsson by Sony Mobile Communications.
