Sony has confirmed that it will acquire 50 per cent of the firm for €1.1 billion (£964 million), thereby making the mobile handset business a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Japanese firm.
In a statement, Ericsson explained that the "synergies" between telecoms equipment and mobile phones were falling.
"This acquisition makes sense for Sony and Ericsson, and it will make the difference for consumers who want to connect with content wherever they are, whenever they want," Sir Howard Stringer, Sony's chairman, commented.
In other industry news, online retailer Amazon recently announced a 73 per cent drop in profits.
This, Amazon explained, is largely due to heavy investment in the Kindle tablet computer.
Shares in the firm fell 12 per cent in the hours after trading.
Posted by Simon Jones
