Huawei in talks to sell premium smartphone brands P and Mate: sources

The P and Mate series are among the top players in the higher-end smartphone markets in China and overseas

Shipments of Mate and P Series smartphones were worth US$39.7 billion between the third quarter of 2019 and the third quarter of 2020

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Richard Yu Chengdong, chief executive of Huawei Technology Co’s consumer business group, launches the company’s Mate 30 smartphone range in Munich, Germany, on September 19, 2019. Photo: Reuters

Published: 5:38pm, 25 Jan 2021Updated: 5:37pm, 25 Jan 2021

Huawei Technologies Co is in early-stage talks to sell its premium smartphone brands P and Mate, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said, a move that could see the company eventually exit from the high-end mobile phone business.

The talks between the world’s largest telecommunications equipment maker and a consortium led by Shanghai government-backed investment firms have been going on for months, the people said, declining to be identified as the discussions were confidential.

Shenzhen-based Huawei started to internally explore the possibility of selling the brands as early as last September, according to one of the sources. The two sources were not privy to the valuation placed on the brands by Huawei.

Shipments of Mate and P Series smartphones were worth US$39.7 billion between the third quarter of 2019 and the third quarter of 2020, according to research firm IDC.

The Huawei Mate 40 Pro smartphone’s unique circular camera module houses a triple camera system. Photo: Ben Sin

Huawei, however, has yet to make a final decision on the sale and the talks might not conclude successfully, according to the two sources, as the company is still trying to manufacture at home its in-house designed high-end Kirin chips which power its smartphones.

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