We already know that Sony owns a large portion of the image sensor business (around 40% estimated in 2015). Not only does the Japanese corporation produce CMOS sensors for cameras and camcorders but it also makes them for smartphones. Many brands use Sony’s semi-conductors for their products too, including Apple.
Last Friday, Sony confirmed via a press release the acquisition of some of Toshiba’s semi-conductor fabrication facilities. Among them there is the Toshiba Oita Operations building that has a total floor space of 48,800m2 for the production of semi-conductors and memory controllers. The final purchase price has been set to 19 billion yen which corresponds to $155 million. The semiconductor facility will be operated by Sony’s new subsidiary company called Sony Semiconductor Corporation (“SCK”). The whole transfer process should be completed by the end of March 2016.
It is clear that Sony intends to expand its image sensor business and this means we are likely to see more and more Sony sensors inside digital products in the near future!
