The price of Honor – Huawei reportedly selling its Honor sub-brand off for $15 billion

Huawei’s Honor is going back to China, if a report by Reuters is accurate. The smartphone maker’s budget sub-brand, Honor, is being sold off in a deal that’s set to make Huawei about $15.2 billion — a not insubstantial sum of cash.

At least, that’s the story according to various sources. Huawei’s Honor will go to a consortium made up of Chinese distributor Digital China and the government of Shenzen. You know, the place where most of you tech is made? (And also Huawei’s home town.)

Keeping your Honor intact

The sale will be made entirely in cash, according to Reuters‘ sources, and will see the consortium taking over just about everything. The brand itself, R&D and supply chain will be transferred over, so if you’re a massive Honor fan, you should still be able to get your hardware fix. It just won’t be made by Huawei.

Digital China Group Co Ltd will own the bulk of the company at around 15%, while several investment firms (backed by the Shenzen government) will own varying amounts of Honor. If, that is, the sources are correct on this. Nobody involved in the apparent deal has been willing to comment, yet. But then, you probably shouldn’t talk about a $15 billion purchase until the ink is dry on the contract.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a consortium step in and take over a brand. Sony’s Vaio notebooks vanished for a time before a consortium picked them up and starting manufacturing hardware again. It’s a little hard to get but it’s available.