In an interview with the German newspaper Die Welt Sony CEO Howard Stringer has hinted that Sony may be contemplating a buyout of Sony’s joint mobile venture with Ericsson.
When asked whether it was time for Sony to end the venture with Ericsson Mr Stringer responded:
It’s certainly been a difficult year, but, buying out a partner is never an easy thing.
A buyout wouldn’t be unprecedented given that Sony is currently buying out its joint music venture with BMG. Mr Stringer seemed to offer an explanation for a possible buyout, namely that he feels Sony Ericsson isn’t as ‘nimble’ as it could be given the need for Sony and Ericsson to consult one another over how the company is run rather than if the company was wholly run by Sony.
Most telling of all though was Mr Stringer’s answer to the question of whether or not Sony Ericsson will be around in three years time:
We have to work together again as we did two years ago or the joint venture will have to find its own solution.
When the interviewer comments that it’s a diplomatic answer, the response from Mr Stringer is that it was intended to be.
It’s these last comments that, in my opinion, really bring home the idea that all is not well with Sony Ericsson. Mr Stringer clearly thinks something has to change at Sony Ericsson, and that something appears to be communication. The question is though, how and why did communication between Sony and Ericsson break down? Why aren’t they working together like they used to?
If Sony did decide to buyout Ericsson it wuld be an enormous risk, after all we shouldn’t forget why they partnered with Ericsson in the first place. On the other hand, if Sony Ericsson continues to do poorly might Sony decide that it just isn’t worth it and pull out entirely?
No comments:
Post a Comment