http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/09/15/business/AS-FIN-Japan-Sony-Toshiba.php
"Sony Corp. will sell its Cell microprocessor and advanced chip operations to Toshiba Corp. for nearly 100 billion yen (US$870 million; €627 million), next year, a news report said Saturday.
Sony will effectively stop making advanced chips, and instead focus on audiovisual equipment, according to a report in Japan's largest business daily, the Nikkei.
The deal will likely include manufacturing lines for the Cell, the microprocessor Sony codeveloped with Toshiba and IBM Corp. for its PlayStation 3 game console, as well as image-processing chips for game consoles and camcorders, according to the report.
At the same time, Sony and Toshiba will establish a joint venture that will use these lines to manufacture system chips, the report said.
Although Toshiba will take a majority stake in the venture, Sony will be the principal buyer of the chips and will have a say in the company's management, the report said. Its game unit, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., could take a stake as well, it said."
While we love to think that Sony and Toshiba hate eachother to death due to HD DVD/BR and we debate aggresively on their behalf, news like this should serve as reminder that just because a business competes on one side doesn't mean they can't work closely in another. This should be reminder to us to not take these "corporate rivalries" too seriously, especially when large companies are highly diverse with varying interests.
"Sony Corp. will sell its Cell microprocessor and advanced chip operations to Toshiba Corp. for nearly 100 billion yen (US$870 million; €627 million), next year, a news report said Saturday.
Sony will effectively stop making advanced chips, and instead focus on audiovisual equipment, according to a report in Japan's largest business daily, the Nikkei.
The deal will likely include manufacturing lines for the Cell, the microprocessor Sony codeveloped with Toshiba and IBM Corp. for its PlayStation 3 game console, as well as image-processing chips for game consoles and camcorders, according to the report.
At the same time, Sony and Toshiba will establish a joint venture that will use these lines to manufacture system chips, the report said.
Although Toshiba will take a majority stake in the venture, Sony will be the principal buyer of the chips and will have a say in the company's management, the report said. Its game unit, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., could take a stake as well, it said."
While we love to think that Sony and Toshiba hate eachother to death due to HD DVD/BR and we debate aggresively on their behalf, news like this should serve as reminder that just because a business competes on one side doesn't mean they can't work closely in another. This should be reminder to us to not take these "corporate rivalries" too seriously, especially when large companies are highly diverse with varying interests.
