LG has finally decided to cancel the sale of its smartphone division. According to some sources, negotiations with potential buyers failed, with the manufacturer asking for a price too high for the transaction. The future is therefore very uncertain for the industry that has collapsed over the years.
Decidedly, no one wants LG’s smartphone division. Starting with the manufacturer itself: since the beginning of the year, rumors have been circulating about its potential exit from this market. This is due to a collapse in sales that has been growing for years. In total, LG lost 3.743 billion euros in just five years. Bong-Seok Kwon, the company’s CEO, reportedly resigned itself by stating in an internal memo that “itis time to make the best choice by calmly judging its current and future competitiveness in the mobile sector.”
LG has thus approached a Vietnamese manufacturer called VinGroup.at the end of January. Since then, we have not heard from any of the negotiations between the two firms. The group also reportedly offered a price to Volkswagen. Unfortunately for the latter, it would seem that this is again a failure. According to a source close to the file, the sale was cancelled because of the high price requested by LG. As a result, the smartphone division may disappear forever.
This is (surely) the end for LG smartphones
According to the same source, LG has completely abandoned the idea of selling its mobile business. Management plans to reveal their future to the department’s employees as early as next April. With no prospect of redemption, and unless you find a last way out, it’s a good bet that it won’t be radiant.
Related: Huawei denies it wants to sell its smartphone division despite sales slump
The finding is unlikely to be better for phones under development. On the occasion of CES 2021, LG introduced the Rollable, a rollable smartphone capable of turning into a tablet. Scheduled for the first quarter of 2021, the release will surely not take place. The manufacturer reportedly stopped production last month.
Source: Donga
