Huawei is selling its budget smartphone unit Honor to a government-backed consortium in an effort to ensure the brand’s survival after the Trump administration cut off the Chinese group’s access to global technology suppliers.
The group of buyers, which includes more than 30 dealers and investment firms as well as the Shenzhen city government, set up a new company in which Huawei will have no shares or involvement. No price was given for the transaction.
The sale comes as the US puts unprecedented pressure on both Huawei’s business selling telecom kits worldwide and its consumer business making smartphones, which accounts for more than half of its revenue. Washington claims Huawei is a national security threat, something the Chinese group denies.