HTC is to droop buying and selling of its inventory on the TWSE tomorrow, forward of what it says might be the discharge of “material information” pertaining to its enterprise. The information was reported earlier by the FT.
The transfer has spiked hypothesis a few potential sale of HTC’s cell division, with the Taiwanese system maker struggling for years to attempt to flip round its fortunes within the fiercely aggressive smartphone market.
In latest years loss-making quarters have grow to be the norm for HTC, which posted its first ever loss making quarter in Q3 2013. And regardless of administration adjustments, portfolio trimming and even pushing into a brand new product class (VR, through a partnership with video games writer Valve) it has been unable to drag its enterprise out of a protracted slide.
Media studies in Asia have just lately linked Google’s mum or dad firm Alphabet with a potential acquisition of HTC’s cell enterprise. And a observe on HTC’s investor web site references hypothesis within the China Times that “HTC might announce the sale to Google” — happening to specify its “countermeasure” to this report is to state: “HTC does not comment on market rumor or speculation”.
If Google is certainly set to select up HTC’s smartphone division it could not be the primary time it’s swooped in to attempt to salvage one among its Android OEMs. The firm acquired Motorola Mobility in 2011, shelling out $12.5BN on the acquisition. Then in 2014 it bought the division to Lenovo for $2.91BN — holding on to “the vast majority” of Motorola’s patent portfolio.
Smartphone leaker Evan Blass has tweeted that he’s been despatched a duplicate of an inside HTC invite for workers to a city corridor assembly tomorrow — which apparently contains “Google acquisition” as one of many matters.
Blass says the identical supply additional claims the deal that the 2 firms have finalized will see Google purchase “certain hardware engineering assets” from HTC, whereas the latter retains its model — and can deal with VR and the Vive.
We’ve reached out to Google for remark and can replace this publish with any response.
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