After months of negotiations, Sanyo and Kyocera Wireless have finally agreed upon the sale of Sanyo’s mobile phone business to Kyocera for $375 million. Under the terms of the deal, Kyocera will combine its mobile operations with Sanyo’s including the transfer of roughly 2,000 of Sanyo’s mobile phone unit employees to Kyocera. The two companies set April 1, 2008, as a tentative date to complete the sale.
Kentaro Yamagishi, executive director and executive vice president of Sanyo, said that following this sale, Sanyo will continue to focus on its previously outlined business strategy to increase the company’s operating profit.
Kyocera also has agreed to keep using the Sanyo brand, as well as using its own brand, for mobile phones both in Japan and overseas. Kyocera also announced plans to establish a subsidiary business in North America, as part of its plan to expand handset sales here.