Sony is buying Ericsson’s share in Sony Ericsson – Official

The rumors took an official turn. There were rumors from sometime that Sony’s gonna buy Ericsson stake in Sony Ericsson. Sony Ericsson is presently a joint venture between Sony Corporation and Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson. Sony, on Thursday announced that it will turn Sony Ericsson into a wholly-owned subsidiary by buying the shares of its current partner for $1.05 billion.  With this acquisition Sony won’t be just the sole owner, but will also take ownership of five wireless technology patent families.

Sony plans to buy Ericsson’s present 50 percent stake in Sony Ericsson in January 2012. Both companies having already approved the decision. Sony states that the deal will allow it to “rapidly integrate smartphones into its broad array of  network-connected consumer electronics devices.”

By owning the cellphone maker outright, Sony “can more rapidly and more widely offer consumers smartphones, laptops, tablets and televisions that seamlessly connect with one another,” said Howard Stringer, Sony chairman, CEO and president. In addition, “We can help people enjoy all our content — from movies to music and games — through our many devices in a way no one else can,” he said in pointing to Sony’s PlayStation Network and Sony’s audio and video streaming services, which are accessible through Sony home CE devices.

Some of us will see this as a good news and others will feel bad. For me, its a bad news. I loved Sony Ericsson together :'(. What about you?