Sony Buys Out The Other 50% Of Sony Ericsson

Japanese technology behemoth Sony has bought out the 50% of mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson from its Swedish partner for €1.1 billion (£964 million), making it a fully owned subsidiary.

Many have expected this deal over the last few years as it makes sense for Sony to integrate its PlayStation and Walkman brands into single smart devices – brands it did not like to share with Ericsson (although Walkman phones have been successful in the past). Having its smartphone manufacturing arm separate from its tablet manufacturing arm seemed inefficient as well – so this deal lets Sony neatly improve efficiency and start making use of its brands from other sectors in other devices. Integration with Sony’s content services such a Qriosity for music and tv/film, and PlatStation Network (PSN) for gaming, will also be more likely as Sony can keep it all under one roof and compete with Apple and Amazon more directly.

For its part, Ericsson noted the the “synergies” between mobiles phones and the telecoms equipment that is the largest part of its business, are decreasing as phones become more consumer devices than pure phones. The deal does, however, include a patents agreement where Sony will get five sets of patents that are required to continue manufacturing phones, as well as a licensing agreement on other intellectual property.