Google and Facebook mentioned as candidates for acquisition of LG smartphone business

Vietnam Bin Group, which has a factory, is also interested
“The weight of the divided sale minus the design and design”

As LG Electronics decided to restructure its smartphone business entirely, interest in whether to sell it or not is increasing. In the industry, it seems that LG Electronics is more likely to sell the entire MC division in installments than to’sell it over’.

According to the information technology (IT) industry on the 21st, Google, Facebook, Volkswagen, and Bean Group are being discussed as companies that can take over LG Electronics’ smartphone business.

Google has a mobile operating system (OS) Android. It is introducing its own smartphone brand’Pixel’, but its market share is insignificant. LG Electronics also produced a series of reference phones’Nexus’ with Google from 2012 to 2015. Facebook is promoting augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) businesses through its subsidiary Oculus, which it acquired in 2014. It is considered a potential acquisition candidate in that it can expand the AR/VR ecosystem by using LG Electronics’ smartphone technology. LG Electronics has a 2% share of the global smartphone market, but in the North American market, it ranked third after Apple and Samsung Electronics with 12.9% last year. An analysis suggests that synergy will increase if an American company takes over.

Some observers say that Vietnam’s Vingroup, which has entered the smartphone market with mid- to low-priced products, can grow its business by securing LG Electronics’ factory in Vietnam and technology. There is also a possibility that Volkswagen, a German automobile company, will enter into an acquisition to strengthen its electronic equipment business.

In the industry, it is expected that LG Electronics will first consider the plan to sell overseas factories, leaving the R&D divisions such as design and design. An industry insider explained, “Smartphones serve as a kind of hub that connects other products such as home appliances and TVs. It will be difficult to give up smartphones easily in a situation where LG Electronics’ ecosystem is expanding with electric vehicles.” For this reason, it is said that LG Electronics will maintain its name by outsourcing production and only in charge of product design, like Apple, rather than completely folding the smartphone business.

The fact that the LG brand cannot be used even if another company acquires it is a factor that increases the possibility of a split sale. An industry insider said, “In the past, Motorola and Nokia were able to maintain their brands even if they were sold to other companies, but other companies will not be able to sell products under the name of LG smartphones.” “Production facilities and intellectual property rights in Vietnam, Latin America, etc. IP) split sale is a realistic solution.”

Reporter Seung-Woo Lee [email protected]

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