LG Looking to Shut Down Smartphone Business After Failing to Find a Buyer

LG is looking to close down its entire smartphone division after failing to find a buyer for the ailing section of its business, according to the Korea Herald.

LG Rollable
In January, LG announced that it was considering options for an exit from the smartphone industry, "including sale, withdrawal and downsizing." Though LG was once the world's third-largest smartphone maker and a sizeable competitor to Apple in the industry, the company's smartphone business has seen declining shipments and accrued losses of $4.5 billion over the past five years, leading to the need for an urgent re-evaluation of the division.

LG reportedly entered talks with Vietnam's Vingroup and automaker Volkswagen about purchasing the company's smartphone business, but negotiations did not lead to an agreement. Although the decision has yet to be confirmed, industry insiders report that LG is now likely to shut down its smartphone business instead of selling it. A source speaking to the Korea Herald explained:

LG reportedly had talks with others over the sale of the unit but apparently there was not much progress in their negotiations. It seems that selling its entire mobile business appears to be difficult at this moment, as is the partial sale of the unit.

With LG's internal restructuring plan now reaching its conclusion and no buyer having been found, the company is said to be leaning toward cutting its losses by closing the smartphone division fully.

LG's recently announced smartphone projects, such as "Rainbow" and "Rollable," are believed to have been scrapped, as the company looks to utilize its existing mobile workforce elsewhere in the business, such as the vehicle component solutions division.

LG is expected to publicize the decision about its smartphone business unit next month after a board meeting.

Tag: LG

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Top Rated Comments

mtneer Avatar
55 months ago
This is terrible news. With many of the Chinese makers in the doghouse, this consolidation cannot be good for consumers.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SkippyThorson Avatar
55 months ago
Wow. This is a bigger surprise than the slaying of Palm and Blackberry. Not to mention; can't find a buyer? No other manufacturer (Samsung) of smartphones saw fit to expand their lineup or just purchase the IP? That's something.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cmaier Avatar
55 months ago

Wow. This is a bigger surprise than the slaying of Palm and Blackberry. Not to mention; can't find a buyer? No other manufacturer (Samsung) of smartphones saw fit to expand their lineup or just purchase the IP? That's something.
Maybe they wanted to sell the business and not the IP? Given the breadth of LG and the fact that they will continue to make components, etc., likely LG wants to hold onto the IP.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JosephAW Avatar
55 months ago
My LG flip phones were better than Apple’s flip phones. :p
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BootsWalking Avatar
55 months ago
They went from boot loop to bankruptcy scoop.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Flow39 Avatar
55 months ago
Sad to see them go, but I could see the writing on the wall for awhile. The last super solid contender they had was the LG G4. After that, they had some okay phones like the V20, but nothing that would make someone buy it over one of the competitors’ products in most cases. The G2 and G3 were great phones however, and I’m a bit disappointed they couldn’t have beaten out Samsung in the race since I felt they had a better overall hardware package for the price.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)