Is HTC Selling Vive?

Once, HTC was one of the leading smartphone manufacturers. Now, though, the company is on the ropes, despite the practical success of its Vive VR headset. In fact, reports suggest HTC is looking to either sell or spin off its VR division into a separate company.

HTC Selling Vive

HTC lost 75% of its value in the last half-decade, thanks to its paltry 2% smartphone market share. As a result, the company’s only remaining lifeline is its VR division. HTC could sell Vive – the VR tech it developed with Valve – or separate it from the main company. Bloomberg’s Ed Hammond, Jonathan Browning, and Mark Gurman report:

“The Taiwanese firm is working with an adviser as it considers bringing in a strategic investor, selling its Vive virtual reality headset business or spinning off the unit, the people said. HTC has held talks with companies including Alphabet Inc.’s Google, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.

A full sale of HTC, which has businesses ranging from VR to handset manufacturing, is less likely because it isn’t an obvious fit for a single acquirer, one of the people said.”

Both HTC and Google declined to comment on the matter.