Denso Gains Greater Say in Autonomous Tech with Fujitsu TEN Deal

Denso has mutually agreed with other stakeholders in Fujitsu TEN, Toyota Motor and Fujitsu to become a majority shareholder in Fujitsu Ten by acquiring a 51 per cent stake in the company. With this deal, Denso will have a greater say in the company which specializes in automated driver technologies and driver assistance technologies. With such features becoming more and more popular among motorists, taking full control of Fujitsu TEN will help Denso to have a greater say in the field of autonomous driving technologies. Denso has made two other such deals since last December.

Currently, Fujitsu has a 55 per cent stake in Fujitsu TEN, while Toyota Motor hold 35 per cent and Denso has a 10 per cent stake. The change in ownership of Fujitsu TEN will come into effect from the first quarter of 2017, with Fujitsu reducing its holding to 14 pc, while Toyota’s share will remain the same.

In recent years, Fujitsu TEN has been conducting more research into connected in-vehicle information equipment and services and as an outcome of this deal, Denso will be increasing its level of collaboration with Fujitsu TEN when it comes the design and development of millimeter-wave radar, in-vehicle ECUs, basic electronic technologies and auto safety and automated driving technologies.

Financial details of the deal have not been revealed though it is said to be worth tens of billions of yen. Denso expected to create strong synergies as a result of the deal and will be launching a new division in January that will specialize in advanced driving assistance systems. The company which earlier depended solely on in-house innovation is now reaching out to other companies for joint ventures and technological collaborations in view of the lack of technology specialists.