TV Market: LG completely denies selling its division to Hisense

The global television market almost held its breath. The South Korean business news outlet EBN recently published a shocking report claiming that LG executives had flown to Beijing. The purpose of this trip? To meet with Hisense executives to discuss a potential outright sale of the Seoul-based company's TV business. As we indicated in our initial news report on the subject (see our article "TV Market: Could LG Really Sell Its TV Division to Hisense?"), this information should be taken with a huge grain of salt, as such a major upheaval seemed highly improbable. Our caution was justified: given the scale of the rumor, the original article was quickly taken offline by EBN, displaying a simple message stating that the content was "under review by an administrator." LG Electronics' formal denial: It didn't take long for the Korean manufacturer to respond. Contacted by our English-speaking colleagues, an LG spokesperson firmly rejected the information. In an official statement sent to Android Authority, the brand left no room for doubt: "LG Electronics wishes to clarify that this news concerning the potential sale of its TV business is completely unfounded, and therefore entirely speculative and misleading." OLED technology enthusiasts can therefore breathe a sigh of relief. LG has no intention of abandoning its expertise and dominant position in the premium segment, especially since Hisense has never hidden its historical preference for LCD/LED and Mini LED technologies over OLED. A rumor fueled by a tense market. If this hypothesis has raised eyebrows, inevitably recalling LG's closure of its smartphone division in 2021, it's because it's part of an extremely competitive audiovisual landscape. The onslaught of Chinese manufacturers is shaking up established players. While LG shines in the high-end market, its LCD televisions are struggling against the aggressive pricing and rapid growth of brands like Hisense and TCL. Outsourcing production to Chinese giants has, in fact, become the norm to streamline costs. Sony recently partnered with TCL for the manufacture of certain screens, Panasonic joined forces with Skyworth for the American market, while Philips televisions have long been owned by the Taiwanese firm TP Vision. Of course, in this market, as in many others, you should never say never. Who would have imagined Sony selling its TV and Home Cinema business to TCL just a few months ago? However, with this denial, LG puts an end to all speculation and loudly proclaims its intention to remain the undisputed master of its television destiny.