A woman takes a photo of a Vertu phone at the product's launch in Shanghai last year. (Photo : Getty Images)
U.K.-based Vertu, maker of luxury mobile phones, will soon join the quickly growing Chinese smartphone market. Vertu Co. Ltd. has been sold to Hong Kong's Godin Holdings.
The former owner of the handcrafted high-end phone maker, EQT Holdings AB mentioned that the turnover was finalized in October. The Swedish private equity group is withholding the financial details of the sale.
EQT investment adviser Caspar Callerstrom assured that Vertu currently holds a leading position in the global luxury phone market, and has substantially improved its operation during its time under EQT.
"Vertu is now ready to take the next step in its development together with a new owner," Caspar said.
The Nokia Corporation came up with Vertu and subsequently sold it off to EQT in 2012. The luxury brand came with a price tag of more than 200 million euros ($220 million). Vertu changed its operating system from Symbian to Android when EQT took over.
Meanwhile, Godin Holdings' parent company, Godin Cyberspace Security Technology, is said to be in the middle of developing a new operating system exclusive to Vertu. Security will be the main feature.
As far as leadership goes, Vertu chief executive Massimiliano Pogliani is rumored to have stepped down from the post, which he held for three years.
How Vertu will operate after the change of ownership is still on the fuzzy side. Half of the company's 800 employees are based in its head office and factory in Church Cookram, a rural town in England.
Vertu phones retail from 50,000 yuan ($7,900) in China. The most expensive models can set a buyer back up to 1.3 million yuan ($200,000).
The price of the latest iPhone, 7,788 yuan ($1,228), is a tiny drop in a swimming pool that is a Vertu phone. But the price of a Vertu comes from handcrafted scratch-resistant sapphire screens, gold or platinum trimmed keys, put there using Swiss-made tools employed in making luxury watches.
Vertu shops can be found in premium locations in Beijing and Shanghai. The recent wave in fervor for luxury products in China could stand as an assurance that Vertu would not be going out of business anytime soon.
"The previous owner chose a good timing to exit as Vertu is facing expansion pressures," said TZ Wong, an analyst at a research company from Singapore. "The company may shift its focus to China and other Asian markets after the takeover."
Another Hong Kong investor, REX Global Entertainment Holdings Ltd., recently acquired 64.9 percent ownership of Yota Devices, a Russian smartphone manufacturer. The deal cost REX $100 million.
These acquisitions might very well be a sign that a trend of Chinese companies buying foreign smartphone manufacturers could be on the horizon.
