Toshiba may spin-off its notebook division to recoup losses

Toshiba's response to the declining PC market and sales of traditional notebooks may be to pull out of the business altogether. Reports from Japan see both Toshiba and Fujitsu considering spin-offs and possibly even mergers with the Vaio brand.

A scandal in July involving accounting fraud within the Toshiba group was likely a fair warning for what may be to come. Fujitsu recently announced in October that it will cut ties with its PC division completely. Similarly, Sony sold off 95 percent of its Vaio brand to Japan Industrial Partners, Inc. back in mid-2014. The company, however, still holds a 5 percent stake at the Vaio Corporation. The source claims that any potential mergers between Toshiba and Fujitsu are still in the early planning stages and that a spokeswoman for Vaio had called the merger "pure speculation".

Toshiba has since responded to the merger rumors by claiming that the Nikkei reports are incorrect. The manufacturer never made any official announcements regarding spin-offs or mergers and is unfamiliar with the sources close to Nikkei. Nonetheless, Toshiba did not outright deny that a spin-off may be in the works.

Sony and Toshiba are already close business partners having recently sold off its CMOS production facilities to Sony for roughly $165 million. NAND production, however, is still a core business for Toshiba and the manufacturer will likely continue to hold onto its flash and mechanical storage group with an iron grip.

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