Sony acquires Toshiba’s image sensor business for 19 billion yen

In line with the previous reports, Sony has officially announced to have acquired Toshiba’s sensor business. “Under the agreements, Toshiba will transfer semiconductor fabrication facilities, equipment and related assets of Toshiba’s 300mm wafer production line, mainly located at its Oita Operations facility,” the company said in a press statement.

Sony has acquired the said business for 19 billion yen. Sony and Toshiba both aim to complete the transfer within the fiscal year ending March 31, 2016, subject to any required regulatory approvals. With this, Toshiba’s chip 48,800 sq m manufacturing plant in Oita City as well as roughly 1,100 employees will transfer to Sony.

Post the transfer, Sony and SCK are looking to operate the semiconductor fabrication facilities as fabrication facilities of SCK, primarily for manufacturing CMOS image sensors, the company has said.

Toshiba, whose businesses range from laptops to nuclear power, is undergoing a restructuring after revelations this year that it overstated earnings by $1.3 billion going back to fiscal 2008-09. Image sensors, which are used in digital cameras and smartphones, are a part of Toshiba’s system LSI semiconductor business.