Ericsson has agreed to sell its 50 percent stake in mobile phone marker Sony Ericsson to partner Sony for EUR 1.05 billion. As a result Sony Ericsson becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony and part of the Japanese company's range of connected consumer devices. The companies also agreed a broad intellectual property cross-licensing agreement covering all products and services of Sony, as well as Sony's ownership of five essential patent families for the mobile business. Ericsson said there are increasingly few synergies between its core network equipment business and the handset operation. At the same time, the shift to smartphones brings the business closer to Sony's other products and services, such as TVs and the PlayStation. Ericsson and Sony have agreed to still work together on developing wirelesss connectivity products. The acquisition is expected to close in January 2012, subject to regulatory approvals. The joint venture was first established in 2001 and has a global market share of around 5 percent.
