Then Microsoft went ahead and shot itself in the foot, hang himself from the ceiling, commit harakiri, burned down the house and then jumped down a bridge.
You already know how to make really really good phones, too. Maybe not quite as good as Samsung, but still, very very good.
What does Essential bring to the table? Market share? Design skills? I mean, aren't they contracting out the manufacturing to some low-cost company?
I don't know. If you were LG and felt you needed marketing and design skills, wouldn't you just make a deal with some super star, internationally known design firms (or someone) and add them to your team somehow?
Why buy a whole expensive outside company when, at best, they know a few more things about phones than you do?