Toshiba this week confirmed that it has sold the remaining stake in its laptop business to Sharp and is formally exiting the PC market.
Toshiba began making PCs in 1985 and it grew to be one of the most successful and reliable PC makers. Its Satellite Pro range, in particular, was a leader in the nascent premium PC market, taking on rivals such as IBM’s ThinkPad line.
But with the PC market contracting by one-third in recent years and the premium market evolving into Ultrabook-style designs championed by Apple, Dell, HP, and Lenovo, Toshiba’s PC business began shrinking, and the firm began exiting markets. In 2015, it started outsourcing its laptop production. And in 2018, it sold 80 percent of its PC business to Sharp for just $36 million. Sharp has since renamed the product line to Dynabook, and it continues to sell product using former Toshiba brands such as Portégé and Tecra.
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Well, now it’s finally over. This week, Toshiba confirmed that it sold its remaining 20 percent stake to Sharp on June 30, 2020. It’s not clear what the value of that transaction is, but Toshiba has finally exited the PC market for good.