HTC is still struggling to stay in shape and most recently its stock price have plunged to a 12 year low. They have put the blame on low interest of its HTC One M9 and the Taiwanese maker is hoping to turn things around when they introduce a new “hero” smart phone in October.
According to Reuters, their home ground competitor ASUS seems to be interested in acquiring the troubled smart phone company. During its AGM, its chairman Johnny Shih didn’t rule out the possibility of acquiring HTC. Its CFO David Chan did acknowledge that there were internal discussions about it but normally it has been ASUS practice of growing organically.
During its heydays in 2011, HTC was worth US$33.8 billion but now it is reported to be valued just over US$2 billion. Just when Android smart phones were booming, HTC was the defacto brand of choice with its HTC Desire, Legend and Nexus One. Now the landscape has changed with Samsung dominating the high-end segment while the Chinese brands are rapidly rising ahead with its high performance and affordable price proposition. With ASUS having a strong foothold in the affordable segment especially in South East Asia, acquiring HTC would give them more leverage to take on the high-end smart phone players.
[ VIA ]
