Hisense Buys Toshiba Television Business

Selling off of various departments is nothing new in the world of Toshiba over the last few years. As the company looks to recoup losses from a recent accounting scandal and its struggling nuclear business, one method to boost its bottom line has been to shed itself of valuable departments.

The latest to face the chopping block is the Toshiba Visual Solutions Corporation (TVS), which is responsible for the production of Toshiba’s televisions and other electronics. The Japanese company announced, in a statement on Tuesday, that it was sold the TVS arm to Hisense in a deal worth 12.9 billion Japanese yen ($113 million). The deal is a 95 percent stock purchase by Hisense with Toshiba retaining 5 percent stock holding. The companies explained that, with the purchase, Hisense will obtain the TVS business, including production, research and development, and sales functions, as well as the license to use the Toshiba brand for a period of 40 years for visual partners operating in Europe, South East Asia, and other markets.

Hisense CEO Liu Hongxin said that his company would optimize TVS’s R&D resources, supply chain, and global sales channels. Additionally, he plans to have both companies support one another in display technology development and through smart TV content services.