Sony Corp. (6758) is in talks to sell its Japanese personal-computer business to buyout firm Japan Industrial (3249) Partners Inc., according to a person with knowledge of the situation.
A memorandum of understanding for a sale, which will include the Vaio brand, may be released as early as tomorrow, the person said, asking not to be identified before a public announcement. Sony may announce a wider restructuring that includes job cuts as it considers what to do with its PC operations in the rest of the world, the person said.Cutting PCs would bolster Chief Executive Officer Kazuo Hirai's efforts to improve results in the consumer-electronics group, which has struggled with shrinking demand for key products and a consumer shift to tablet computers. Sony, which reports third-quarter results tomorrow, posted second-quarter losses at the unit making PCs, cameras and televisions.
"Selling the PC operation is positive for Sony in the long term," said Junya Ayada, a Tokyo-based analyst at Daiwa Securities Group Inc. "The PC is being robbed of the consumer market by tablet computers."
Shares of Sony rose 3.3 percent to 1,581 yen as of the lunchtime trading break in Tokyo, the biggest gain in nearly a month. The company's American depositary receipts rose 5.6 percent in New York yesterday.
Source: Bloomberg
"Selling the PC operation is positive for Sony in the long term," said Junya Ayada, a Tokyo-based analyst at Daiwa Securities Group Inc. "The PC is being robbed of the consumer market by tablet computers."
Shares of Sony rose 3.3 percent to 1,581 yen as of the lunchtime trading break in Tokyo, the biggest gain in nearly a month. The company's American depositary receipts rose 5.6 percent in New York yesterday.
Source: Bloomberg
