We have been told that in recent months that Sony, who are struggling under a mountain of debt and is set to announce billions in losses in mid May, has held discussions with both the BenQ Corporation and Foxconn Electronics about the possibility of a joint venture to manufacture their Vaio notebook and PC range.
Foxconn is tipped to have recently won the contract to manufacture a new Apple's Netbook. They also manufacture Apple Macs.
A senior BenQ executive confirmed that they had recently held discussions with Sony but chose not go ahead with a "manufacturing or investment" relationship.
"Sony does not have any significant share of the notebook market and by majority their Vaio products are niche. They are not purchased by business or enterprise organisations as they are too expensive and while they are well designed they are primarily a consumer home purchase which makes it difficult to return a profit especially in today's notebook market. As a result BenQ chose not to form a relationship with Sony" said a senior BenQ executive.
A Foxconn executive also admitted that they have held discussions with Sony about a manufacturing relationship.
