Toshiba officially quits the laptop business after 35 years

Toshiba has sold off the last few shares of its PC business, now known as Dynabook Inc., drawing a  35-year stint in the industry to a close.

The Japanese firm sold the majority (80.1%) of its PC arm to fellow electronics manufacturer Sharp in 2018, for $36 million.

In June, however, Sharp activated a clause in the original agreement that allowed the firm to purchase the remaining 19.9%, effectively jettisoning Toshiba from an industry it once led.

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“Toshiba Corporation hereby announces that it has transferred the 19.9% of the outstanding shares in Dynabook Inc. that it held to Sharp Corporation. As a result of the transfer, Dynabook has become a wholly owned subsidiary of Sharp,” reads a statement published by the firm.

“On June 3030, 2020, under the terms of the [original] share purchase agreement, Sharp exercised a call option for the remaining outstanding shares of Dynabook held by Toshiba, and Toshiba has completed procedures for their transfer.”

Toshiba laptops

The first Toshiba laptop (the T1100) was released in 1985, but the firm did not cement its place in the laptop industry until the 1990s - a decade in which Toshiba came to hold the largest market share. The company also found itself among the top PC vendors, despite its brief and limited foray into the world of desktop computing.

However, the company’s industry standing began to slide in the late 2000s, as its machines were displaced by laptops with a more attractive design and/or superior performance.

By the 2010s, Lenovo, HP, Dell and Apple dominated the field, pushing Toshiba further towards the periphery and ultimately motivating the initial sale to Sharp.

In a bid to rejuvenate the struggling laptop portfolio, Sharp swiftly initiated a rebrand and the business was renamed Dynabook. The acquisition of the remaining shares suggests Sharp is confident it can profit from the revival.

It is unclear for how much the remaining 19.9% was sold to Sharp and therefore what valuation the new deal places on Dynabook. TechRadar Pro is awaiting a response from the parties involved.

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Via The Register

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