Sony announced Tuesday that it would take its financial services arm public on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in October, targeting proceeds of roughly $2.87 billion to redirect into its core electronics business.
The offering, priced at 415,000 yen per share, would be the Tokyo bourse's biggest listing of 2007 and Japan's largest since Aozora Bank went public the prior November. Sony Financial Holdings, the parent of Sony Life Insurance, Sony Assurance, and Sony Bank, planned to sell 800,000 shares across domestic and overseas markets, primarily in Europe and the United States.
The financial unit accounts for less than eight percent of Sony's total revenue, which reached 8.29 trillion yen in the year to March. Analysts noted that tapping a high-growth division for cash reflected ongoing pressure at the parent company, where the PlayStation 3 has trailed Nintendo's Wii in sales and a broad restructuring remains in progress.
Sony posted a net profit more than double the prior-year figure for its most recent fiscal quarter, lifted by strong camera sales and the theatrical performance of "Spider-Man 3." The company has pledged deeper investment in innovation after years of losing ground to Apple's iPod.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in September 2007, in its own words.