Let's not beat around the bush, HTC isn’t doing so hot right now. While the company has had some success this year with devices like the HTC One, just last week HTC posted its first quarterly loss since the company went public back in 2002.
Despite the current hard times, HTC chairwoman Cher Wang doesn’t seem discouraged. Recently Wang spoke to CNBC where she praised HTC's CEO Peter Chou and the company's overall direction, saying that stock performance isn’t the most important aspect. In her words, "The (ability) of the company to be able to stick with (its) vision is the most important."
Wang also denied the rumors that the company was considering buyout offers, but that's not enough to stop the rumor mill from turning. According to the Korean publication eToday, HTC is not only actively looking to make a deal, they have already been holding secret meetings with Lenovo since August.
As the rumor goes, Lenovo is interested in taking over HTC's brand, though no exact terms have been reached just yet. If a deal can be reached, we will supposedly see an official announcement by Lenovo and HTC as early as the first half of next year.
Could such a deal really be in the works?
How believable is all of this? Back in August we touched on this subject, concluding that while it's not impossible, there are political issues that could make such a deal more than a little difficult. Still, the idea does make sense in some ways.
Lenovo has been making smartphones on its own for a while now, but almost exclusively for the Chinese market. Back in May, Lenovo's CEO Yang Yuanqing did indicate the company has plans to expand its international reach and may even be bringing its handsets to the United States in the near future. If Lenovo wants to be successful out of its home country, using a well known (though declining) brand like HTC might be a good way to do it. A partnership or flat out acquisition would also give the HTC brand better access to the growing Chinese market.
On the other hand, HTC may not be ready to give up the fight just yet. After all, they likely still have a few aces up their sleeves, such as the release of the upcoming HTC One Max. There’s also the ongoing Robert Downey Jr. Marketing campaign, which is designed to bring back positive attention to the company.
We also have to consider that even with profits declining, HTC is still a valuable company, and acquiring it could prove to be very expensive for Lenovo. In short, while the idea of Lenovo buying out HTC doesn’t sound completely insane, we’d take the entire rumor with a hefty grain of salt.
What do you think, would Lenovo be a good fit for carrying on the HTC brand? Or do you feel that HTC's fight isn't over just yet?
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