Kyocera finalizes plan to acquire Sanyo cell business
updated 08:15 am EST, Mon January 21, 2008
Kyocera get Sanyo Cell Biz
Kyocera today said it had settled on terms to pick up Sanyo's cellphone business. Confirming earlier moves, the former will acquire all of Sanyo's cellphone and cellular technology assets. However, the deal will initially see virtually unchanged business: not only will none of Sanyo's related jobs be cut, but Sanyo-branded phones will continue to exist "for the foreseeable future," Kyocera says. The deal itself is estimated to be worth about $375 million after factoring in associated costs.
The deal should take effect on April 1st. In the US, Kyocera expects to have a subsidiary label that will take care of selling Sanyo phones in the country and should not result in any sudden changes to the phone lineup. Sanyo is best known in the US for its Katana DLX and Katana II flip phones, which largely complete with Motorola's RAZR. Kyocera is less common with major providers in the US and has garnered its largest amount of attention with Virgin Mobile.
