Philips sold its TV division last year and have now decided to sell the rest of the consumer electronics division to Japanese Funai. It also means that Philips will no longer produce Blu-ray/DVD players and audio systems.
Philips has exited the AV market
Philips has been developing and selling consumer electronics for more than 80 years. They developed a range of important TV technologies and were a main contributor to the DVD and Blu-ray standards. But soon Dutch Philips will have no role in these markets. They have announced the sale of all its AV divisions, in order to focus on lighting, health / well-being and control systems.
- "Since we have online entertainment, people do not buy Blu-ray and DVD players anymore," says Philips CEO, Frans van Houten, to the Wall Street Journal.
Philips sold its TV division last year and the rest of audio/video divisions have just been sold to
The majority of the activities will be transferred to Funai in the second half of 2013 but the video division will not change hands until 2017. Funai will pay Philips 150 million Euros + an annually licensing fee, with an option to extend it for 5 more years. Funai will receive the right to slap a Philips logo on its products.
You will also continue to see Philips TVs in the market place. The TVs will be produced by TPV from Hong Kong that acquired the right to use the Philips brand on TVs in 2012.
- Source: Philips press release, the Wall Street Journal
Philips exits AV market, sells remains to Funai
