Pantech has the rather uneviable task of competing with mega smartphone companies like Samsung and LG in their home country of Korea, but has still managed to hold onto third place there for some time now. But six consecutive quarters of losses has to hurt, and the manufacturer has decided to put itself up for sale. Interested parties whose names have been swirling around include main competitors, Samsung and LG, as well as other Korean companies like car manufacturer, Hyundai, and telecommunications operator, SK Telecom. Even India’s Micromax and China’s Lenovo, Huawei, and Xiaomi have pricked up their ears, particularly with the knowledge that 90% of the Korean smartphone market only buys Korean products, making buying Pantech an easy way to access the Korean market.
Interested parties will have until October 7th to lodge their offers, and the selling price is expected to be around $366 million USD. It’s pretty sad that Pantech has fallen on hard times as they have made some particularly beautiful devices in their time, like the Pantech Vega Iron, but you can probably guess how hard it is to compete with Samsung and LG hanging around. Still, we hope whoever buys them keeps the company intact and making those spiffy smartphones.
What do you think about Pantech going under the hammer? Let us know your thoughts.
Source: ZDNet Korea via Phone Arena
