Sony negotiating to buy out Ericsson's share in Sony Ericsson?

According to Manager-Magazin.de, Sony is rumored to be chatting with banks in an effort to finance a buyout that would relieve Ericsson of its 50% stake in the Sony Ericsson joint venture. Ericsson would not comment on the subject to the magazine, but is believed to be interested in selling its stake in the joint venture, as well.

Sony Ericsson is a joint venture that hoped to bring Ericsson's mobile experience and Sony's consumer electronics experience together for a successful line of cell phones. The company currently offers feature phones as well as smartphones, using both Windows Mobile and UIQ to power its smartphones. Sony Ericsson recently posted a Q4 2008 loss of $187 million EUR and has been struggling to find its place in the market.

Danske Bank from Dennmark appears to have issued an investment alert email to some its employees this morning that took a look at the situation and maintaned its opinion of "hold" on Ericsson's stock in light of this deal. According to a copy of the email that we received, it appears that Danske Bank believes such a deal with Sony could be worth little in terms of cash to Ericsson, and could even cost the company a bit of money depending on timing.