Fujitsu Ltd. will sell its mobile phone business to a domestic investment fund for some ¥50 billion to focus its resources on information technology services, sources close to the matter said Friday.
Fujitsu will sell a majority stake in its wholly-owned subsidiary Fujitsu Connected Technologies Ltd. to Polaris Capital Group Ltd., the sources said. The company also said in a statement that it is in talks with the investment fund, but refrained from going into details.
By removing the unit from its books, Fujitsu aims to enhance system development, with cutting-edge technologies, and its server business.
Fujitsu has been seeking bids for its mobile phone business since last year as part of structural reforms. The company is likely to seal the deal with Polaris by the end of this month, according to the sources.
The mobile phone unit will maintain its current head count, production systems and brands, the sources said.
Fujitsu's mobile phones such as Arrows and the RakuRaku phone brand series are mostly delivered to NTT Docomo Inc. Although the business has seen relatively stable profits, shipments are expected to have fallen below half of their peak to 3.1 million units in fiscal 2017, amid the growing popularity of Apple Inc. and Sony Corp. brands.