Sony has announced its purchase of Toshiba‘s image sensor business for $155 million. A merger was rumored to occur earlier this year in October, but today, Sony has confirmed the purchase. The transfer of Toshiba’s fabrication plant, equipment, and employees to Sony will be complete by March 31st of next year.
Sony has had a hard time selling many devices of its own, but the image sensor business has been a profitable one for the company. The best smartphone cameras are ones engineered by Sony with the likes of the Xperia Z serie. The top-tier of smartphone cameras feature Sony-engineered image sensors, including devices like the Nexus 6P and Galaxy Note 5.
Sony’s image sensor business is the biggest reason the company has a strong footing in the smartphone market, despite its own devices not selling well and the added technology and resources from Toshiba should only make Sony’s lead in the smartphone image sensor market stronger.
