Toshiba Agrees To Sell PC Arm To Sharp, But Toshiba PC Brand Will Continue

Toshiba has reached an agreement to sell the majority of shares in its PC business subsidiary, Toshiba Client Solutions, to Sharp for $36 million.

The deal for 80.1 percent of shares in Toshiba Client Solutions is expected to close as of Oct. 1, according to Toshiba.

[Related: Toshiba's Smart Glasses Could Bring New Opportunities To The Channel]

The Toshiba PC brand is also expected to continue under Sharp's ownership.

"Following the share transfer, Toshiba will continue to provide brand licensing for PC products and equipment designed, manufactured and sold by TCS," Toshiba said in a news release. "TCS will continue to provide its customers around the world with products and services that reflect their needs."

Toshiba has steered its PC division toward business devices, with launches in the past year including the Portege X20W, a highly portable 2-in-1 laptop.

Osaka-based Sharp is a subsidiary of Foxconn, and previously pulled out of the PC market in 2010.

Tokyo-based Toshiba has been selling off business units in recent years including its television business (to Hisense), its unified communications assets (to Mitel), its sensor business (to Sony) and its NAND flash memory division (to a group including Bain Capital and Apple). The sales have followed the bankruptcy of the company's U.S. nuclear business and an accounting scandal that led to the departure of the company's CEO in 2015.