The company is interested in acquiring Renesas' LSI chip production facility and converting it to a CMOS sensor facility. December 4, 2013 5:25 AM PST Sony might soon acquire a chip plant in Japan that has heretofore been used to produce large-scale-integration (LSI) chips, if it can find a way to change its focus. Sony executives have toured a Renesas Electronics plant in Japan to determine if it's a worthy acquisition, the Wall Street Journal is reporting on Wednesday, citing people with knowledge of the discussions between the companies. Before Sony puts in an offer, however, the company wants to see how difficult it would be to convert the facility into a CMOS-production plant. Related stories Global PlayStation 4 sales reach 2.1 million units Mall of the future? eBay's new storefronts can gather your data Why Xbox One, PS4 price cuts aren't coming until 2015 What console war? Microsoft sells 1M Xbox Ones in first 24 hours Sony ekes little to no profit from PS4, says report Renesas has been in a world of trouble over the last few years as its business has declined at the hands of stiff competition in the chip-making business. Renesas announced plans earlier this year to close its Tsuruoka plant in Japan to cut costs. The company has been building LSI chips at the facility for use in several consumer electronics. According to the Journal, Nintendo has been one of its long-time customers, but recent sales declines on Wii consoles has hurt its operation. For Sony, acquiring the facility comes down to whether the equipment at the Tsuruoka plant can be easily converted to build CMOS image sensors. According to the Journal's sources, the image sensors would be sold off to smartphone makers and ostensibly camera producers. Sony might also integrate the sensors into its own products. According to the Journal's sources, the talks between Sony and Renesas are still in their initial phases, and any hiccup along the way could scuttle the deal. CNET has contacted Sony for comment. We will update this story when we have more information.
The company is interested in acquiring Renesas' LSI chip production facility and converting it to a CMOS sensor facility.
Sony might soon acquire a chip plant in Japan that has heretofore been used to produce large-scale-integration (LSI) chips, if it can find a way to change its focus.
Sony executives have toured a Renesas Electronics plant in Japan to determine if it's a worthy acquisition, the Wall Street Journal is reporting on Wednesday, citing people with knowledge of the discussions between the companies. Before Sony puts in an offer, however, the company wants to see how difficult it would be to convert the facility into a CMOS-production plant.
Related stories
- Global PlayStation 4 sales reach 2.1 million units
- Mall of the future? eBay's new storefronts can gather your data
- Why Xbox One, PS4 price cuts aren't coming until 2015
- What console war? Microsoft sells 1M Xbox Ones in first 24 hours
- Sony ekes little to no profit from PS4, says report
Renesas has been in a world of trouble over the last few years as its business has declined at the hands of stiff competition in the chip-making business. Renesas announced plans earlier this year to close its Tsuruoka plant in Japan to cut costs. The company has been building LSI chips at the facility for use in several consumer electronics. According to the Journal, Nintendo has been one of its long-time customers, but recent sales declines on Wii consoles has hurt its operation.
For Sony, acquiring the facility comes down to whether the equipment at the Tsuruoka plant can be easily converted to build CMOS image sensors. According to the Journal's sources, the image sensors would be sold off to smartphone makers and ostensibly camera producers. Sony might also integrate the sensors into its own products.
According to the Journal's sources, the talks between Sony and Renesas are still in their initial phases, and any hiccup along the way could scuttle the deal.
CNET has contacted Sony for comment. We will update this story when we have more information.
