On January 5, 2005, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, a leading innovator in mobile phones, and the WTA jointly announced the signing of a landmark $88-million global sponsorship that made Sony Ericsson the Worldwide Title Sponsor of the WTA. The six-year deal was the largest and most comprehensive sponsorship in the history of tennis and of women's professional sport. As Sony Ericsson's first global sponsorship, the partnership associated one of the world's fastest growing and innovative global brands in the mobile handset industry with the world's leading professional sport for women.
In 2010, Sony Ericsson renewed its landmark partnership with the WTA in the role of lead global partner.
In February 2012, Sony Corporation ("Sony") announced the completion of the transaction jointly announced by Sony and Ericsson on October 27, 2011, that made Sony Ericsson a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony. Sony renamed Sony Ericsson "Sony Mobile Communications", and further integrated the mobile phone business as a vital element of its electronics business, with the aim of accelerating convergence between Sony's lineup of network enabled consumer electronics products, including smart phones, tablets, TVs and PCs.
