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It's typically a bad sign when a major semiconductor company sees its CEO walk away, and no one in adjoining offices stops to do anything about it. Such is the case with ST-Ericsson, a (now) failed joint venture of STMicroelectronics and Ericsson. The two outfits have seemingly failed to find a suitor for the JV, leaving them with relatively few options -- poor ones at that. In a release posted today (and embedded after the break), the entity has stated that each partner company will take on some of the business, but around 1,600 jobs will be lost from the sectors that neither has interest in. ST-Ericsson was an attempt to jump-start a semiconductor business in Europe, but it actually hasn't turned a profit since forming in 2008.
Ericsson will take on the design, development and sales of the LTE multimode thin modem products, including 2G, 3G and 4G multimode, while ST will take on the existing ST-Ericsson products, other than LTE multimode thin modems, and related business as well as certain assembly and test facilities. It's expected that the particulars will clear regulatory hurdles in Q3 of this year, and in order to make sure things go as well as they can in the interim, Carlo Ferro is being appointed president and CEO of the JV starting on April 1st.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Via: TechCrunch
Source: ST-Ericsson, Ericsson
We already knew that Sharp's been asking around for some much-needed help recently, and now we can all breathe a sigh of relief, as Nikkei is reporting that said manufacturer has finally found a new friend to help co-develop its energy-efficient IGZO LCD panels. Set to announce as soon as Tuesday (presumably Japan time), the deal will involve Qualcomm initially throwing in five billion yen ($61 million) by the end of the year, with a double-down of another five billion yen after "sufficient progress has been made." There's no timeline yet on when (or if) a full investment would be secured, but if all goes to plan, Qualcomm will eventually hold nearly five percent of Sharp's stock, whereas Sharp will more or less get back the 10 billion yen it lost to Sony following the termination of their joint venture earlier this year. Not a bad way to prepare for 2013, eh?
Filed under: Cellphones, Displays
Via: Reuters
Source: Nikkei (subscription required)
