Sony who has not made a cent from selling their Bravia TV’s for the past 8 years has announced that they are divorcing their long time TV partner Samsung.
In an official statement earlier today Sony said that they are dissolving their joint venture with Samsung as they try to staunch haemorrhaging TV losses.
Sony said that Samsung Electronics the #1 TV Company in the world, will buy all of Sony’s shares in the joint venture for $935 million subject to a final agreement.
The joint venture called S-LCD was set up in 2004. Sony, which fell behind in flat panel TVs, invested in a Samsung panel factory to ensure a steady supply of panels for its LCD TVs.
Sony, which makes Bravia TV sets, does not make its own panels; instead they rely on third party manufacturers. In some cases the only thing Sony about the TV is the name stuck on the TV casing.
Sony said that they will report an $846 million loss for the third quarter of this fiscal year, which ends later this month, because of the declining value of investment in S-LCD.
Sony said it is focused on a “four-screen strategy,” which aims to offer content and interconnect smartphones, laptops, tablets, and televisions. It announced in October it would acquire Ericsson’s 50 percent stake in their Sony Ericsson mobile phone joint venture, allowing it to better integrate smartphones into its overall product lineup.
