Sony Completes Acquisition of SonyEricsson

By Joseph Palenchar -- TWICE, 2/16/2012

Tokyo - Sony completed its planned purchase of Ericsson's 50 percent stake in SonyEricsson and turned the company into a wholly owned subsidiary called Sony Mobile Communications.

Sony, which previously owned 50 percent of the joint venture, will integrate the company and its 8,000 employees with its electronics business "with the aim of accelerating convergence between Sony's lineup of network enabled consumer electronics products, including smart phones, tablets, TVs and PCs," Sony said.

 The purchase, announced last October, was promoted by Sony chairman/CEO/president Howard Stringer as enabling to "more rapidly and more widely offer consumers smartphones, laptops, tablets and televisions that seamlessly connect with one another."

The subsidiary's headquarters remains in London, and Bert Nordberg remains president/CEO.

Ericsson's gain on the transaction will be around SEK 7.5 billion, (Swedish Krona), or about $1.11 billion at a conversion rate of SEK 6.76 to the U.S dollar, Sony said The gain will be reported as other operating income in Ericsson's first quarter.