China's Hisense buys Toshiba's TV business

QINGDAO-- Chinese electronics giant Hisense will buy a 95 percent stake in Japan's Toshiba Visual Solutions Corporation (TVS), as part of its efforts to expand globally.

Hisense Electric Co., Ltd., under the Hisense Group, and Tokyo-based Toshiba Corp. Tuesday jointly announced the 12.9 billion yen (about 113 million US dollar) deal which will be completed by the end of February 2018. TVS is a television and visual products subsidiary under the Japanese electronics maker Toshiba.

After the transaction, Hisense will take over a raft of business including products, brands and operations services, said Liu Hongxin, president of Hisense Group.

Hisense will integrate the research and development strength of the two companies, as well as supply chain and global channel resources, to improve its market share and global presence, he said.

Sales of Hisense televisions have topped the Chinese market for the past 13 consecutive years and ranked the third globally in 2015 and 2016, according to the company.