Sticky: Convergent For Sale But Very Likely To Close. Europe Arm Shut
Adrian J Cotterill, Editor-in-Chief
Half a dozen people have now told us that Sony’s Convergent Media Systems group in the US, (acquired from Thomson just over three years ago) is up for sale BUT that it is actually much more likely to be shut.
The European arm, five to 10 people in total, is definitely going / already gone and we are told (but have not yet found, an alleged press release on the European news buried somewhere on the Sony or Convergent Website).
The closure will mean the loss of 120 jobs. This, no doubt, is all part of Sony’s ongoing financial struggles (see ‘Sony Professional Display Group Layoffs To Hit Europe‘ and ‘Sony Professional Display Group Layoffs‘.
April 21st, 2013 at 01:34 @107
What leads you to believe that Sony’s Convergent Media subsidiary will be shut down instead of sold?
April 22nd, 2013 at 00:55 @080
Ed. The price that Sony want for Convergent and the speed at which they want to do a deal, we believe, will preclude it being sold. It’s cheaper for Sony to shut them down. Sad for 120 employees but unfortunately true.
April 23rd, 2013 at 21:06 @920
Adrian, What is the “For Sale” price for Convergent? What is Sony’s deadline for selling Convergent?
April 23rd, 2013 at 21:58 @957
We don’t know the exact price but expect it to be anywhere between USD 30 and 50M. We’d doubt that they would get that. It’s also too small for Sony to care about (in the big scheme of things) which is why we believe it will be closed by June.
May 3rd, 2013 at 21:42 @946
Sony has no plans to shut down Convergent’s business — Tom Di Nome, Sony Electronics, Corporate Communications