Toshiba Corp. said June 5 that it will sell 80.1% of its personal computer business to Sharp Corp. for ¥4 billion.
Toshiba expects the share purchase agreement to be completed, including all government approvals, by Oct. 1, after which the wholly owned subsidiary Toshiba Client Solutions Co. Ltd, or TCS, will be deconsolidated from Toshiba Group.
After the share transfer, Toshiba will continue to provide brand licensing for PC products and equipment designed and manufactured by TCS.
"Toshiba has determined that the best way to strengthen TCS, increase its corporate value, and also to secure global competitiveness and continued development of the business, is to select Sharp as its partner," the company said.
Sharp's shares were down 6.06% while Toshiba's shares gained 1.00% as of 1:30 a.m. ET on June 5.
Sharp's acquisition marks its return to the PC business after its exit in 2010. Sharp had struggled to compete with Asian competitors and was purchased by Taiwan's Foxconn Technology Group in 2016, Reuters reported June 5.
Both companies said the deal will have little impact on their earnings, Bloomberg News reported.
The share purchase is part of Foxconn's plans to expand beyond contract manufacturing and build its own brand. The sale is the latest in a string of Toshiba deals as it seeks to repair its balance sheet through unit sales after a nuclear energy subsidiary went bankrupt, Bloomberg said.
As of June 4, US$1 was equivalent to ¥109.67.
