L M Ericsson Telefon AB has been pestering Thorn EMI Plc to allow it to buy Thorn’s controlling 51% holding in their Thorn Ericsson Telecommunications (Holdings) Ltd joint venture ever since the commercial climate in the UK changed to the point where it was no longer necessary to be UK-owned to win business from the likes of British Telecom. And as Thorn had 51%, there was nothing Ericsson could do unilaterally, but yesterday the UK company finally agreed that perhaps the unit didn’t fit in to its long term plan, and relented, agreeing to sell its share in the business for an undisclosed sum. There will be no operational change at Thorn Ericsson, although the name will presumably change. Its headquarters will remain in Horsham, Sussex. Thorn originally entered the 51-49 joint venture because it wanted to break the three way stranglehold on UK telecommunications business then held by Plessey, GEC and STC, and after several patient years was rewarded when British Telecom chose the Ericsson AXE exchange as its System Y. Ericsson has also done well in the cellular telephone market here, supplying much of Racal’s cellular equipment.
