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Sony reportedly in talks to sell PC ops (Vaio PC business), shares jump

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A

Aquamarine

Member
Update:

It's confirmed. Sony will sell its entire PC business to buyout firm Japan Industrial Partners Inc. The final deal set to be done by the end of March 2014.

Sony said it was "addressing various options" as recently as yesterday when it came to its VAIO PC and laptop arm, and while announcing its financial results for Q3 2013, it's apparently come to a decision. Amid reforming its TV arm (and splitting it into a stand-alone entity), it's going to sell its PC business and VAIO brand to Japan Industrial Partners (JIP), with the final deal set to be done by the end of March 2014. The company has reported a drop in demand for its PCs in prior financial statements, and (barring the VAIO Flip 11A), Sony didn't have much to show from its VAIO range at this year's CES.

Sony is now no longer designing and developing PC products, while manufacturing and sales will wrap up after the company's final VAIO range goes on sale globally. The company explains that it decided to focus on mobile products (smartphones and tablets), meaning that it had to make big decisions with less successful parts of the business.

Bloomberg is reporting that Sony will cut 5,000 jobs worldwide by the end of the 2014 fiscal year, while the new PC company has stated that it will hire around 250 to 300 Sony employees, encompassing design, development manufacturing and sales, and will be based in Nagano -- where Sony's current VAIO HQ resides. The company is promising to fulfill all its aftercare warranties. Sony is signed up to invest 5 percent of the new company's capital to support its launch and smooth over the transition. According to Sony's predictions, it reckons the changes will ensure the TV business returns to profitability within the financial year of 2014.
Click to expand...

http://www.engadget.com/2014/02/06/sony-sells-vaio/



http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-...l-loss-as-hirai-turnaround-stalls-on-tvs.html

Direct evidence from Earnings Release:

ZCAqywe.png


http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/IR/financial/fr/13q3_sony.pdf




Original Story:

  • The Nikkei reports Sony (SNE +5.3%) is in talks to sell its Vaio PC unit, and is looking to receive ¥40B-¥50B ($394M-$492M).

  • The report follows one over the weekend stating Lenovo (LNVGY), which last month struck deals to buy Motorola Mobility and IBM's x86 server unit, is in talks to acquire Sony's PC ops. Sony called that particular report inaccurate, but admitted it's exploring options for the business.

  • Sony shares have shot higher on the Nikkei's report. Investors like the idea of unloading a loss-generating unit that has struggled to deal with declining PC sales and tough competition from Lenovo, H-P, and others. The company's FQ3 report is due on Thursday morning.

  • Thanks to both the Sony report and a massive equity selloff, Lenovo shares are down 16% in Hong Kong over the last two days.

  • SNE price: $16.06, Up 0.81 (5.31%)

Source: Seeking Alpha



TOKYO -- Sony is in talks to unload its sluggish personal computer operations to investment fund Japan Industrial Partners as it tries to shift focus to smartphones, The Nikkei learned Tuesday.

Under the plan, the fund will establish a new company to which Sony will sell its entire PC business. The sale price is estimated at 40 billion yen to 50 billion yen ($391 million to $489 million).

The new entity would continue to sell PCs under the Vaio brand and also handle after-sales service. To facilitate the transfer, Sony will take only a small stake in the firm, which will try to solidify its business base at home. While the company may maintain operations in overseas markets where the Vaio brand is well-known, it will withdraw from most countries and regions.

Sony's PC business has a staff of roughly 1,000. Many of them, including executives, will be taken on by the new firm, but some others will be transferred to other departments within Sony. The parties are discussing having Sony's PC site in Nagano Prefecture continue handling R&D and production under the new company.

The sale of the PC business will result in disposal losses, pushing Sony into a net loss for the first time in two years for the year ending March 31 -- a reversal from the projected 30 billion yen in profit. With TV and digital camera operations languishing, its electronics business is performing below expectations.

The Japanese consumer electronics titan made a full entry into information technology equipment by launching the Vaio brand of PCs back in 1996. Its annual PC shipments peaked at 8.7 million units but are now projected to fall to 5.8 million units this fiscal year. Sony was the ninth-ranked PC maker in the world with a 1.9% share of all PCs shipped during the January-September period of 2013, according to U.S. research firm IDC. Although Sony does not disclose earnings for the PC business, the segment is believed to be bleeding red ink.
Click to expand...

http://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Deals/Sony-looking-to-sell-PC-business-to-investment-fund
 
L

Lagspike_exe

Member
They should do it. PCs are commoditized to the point where making profit is extremely hard and Sony hasn't done much to differentiate Vaios from other brands.
 
vpance

vpance

Member
More info here: http://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Deals/Sony-looking-to-sell-PC-business-to-investment-fund

The new entity would continue to sell PCs under the Vaio brand and also handle after-sales service. To facilitate the transfer, Sony will take only a small stake in the firm, which will try to solidify its business base at home. While the company may maintain operations in overseas markets where the Vaio brand is well-known, it will withdraw from most countries and regions.

Sony's PC business has a staff of roughly 1,000. Many of them, including executives, will be taken on by the new firm, but some others will be transferred to other departments within Sony. The parties are discussing having Sony's PC site in Nagano Prefecture continue handling R&D and production under the new company.
Click to expand...
 
I

injurai

Banned
Lagspike_exe said:
They should do it. PCs are commoditized to the point where making profit is extremely hard and Sony hasn't done much to differentiate Vaios from other brands.
Click to expand...

Honestly though, Vaios are the only laptop that offered everything I wanted in a Windows laptop. Maybe samsung will take up the torch, but the Vaio S (especially 2012 model) will go down with quite a legacy.
 
D

Deleted member 17706

Unconfirmed Member
Makes sense, but I was actually considering getting one of their new hybrid Windows 8 Vaios.
 
M

Mr Swine

Banned
So, what else is on the table for Sony to sell? Their console division and the TV division? Or is it something else hey have?
 
K

KTallguy

Banned
I loved my Vaio but I wish it wasn't saddled with all the bad things about Sony computers.

Good:
  • High Quality Materials
  • Killer Design
  • Decent Reliability

Bad:
  • Crap is loaded onto the computer that I have to get rid of.
  • Drivers for buttons on the computer stop working with Win 7, updates don't fix it.
  • A bit too expensive, but really not that bad.

I would buy another Vaio if they fixed those bad things.
 
Forsete

Forsete

Member
Good, Lenovo makes good shit. VAIO will be in safe premium hands.

Sony should focus on:

Mobile
PlayStation
Entertainment/Media
Imaging (cameras (dat Cybershot, Alpha and NEX deliciousness), medical and sensors which they more or less already have a monopoly on) - That "Nintendo" DRAM plant is supposed to be turned into a CMOS plant to boost sensor production. Good move!
Insurance
And of course all the professional stuff they already have locked down (very popular)

We will see where TV is headed.
 
M

Mortemis

Banned
Mr Swine said:
So, what else is on the table for Sony to sell? Their console division and the TV division? Or is it something else hey have?
Click to expand...
Has their movie division been making money lately? I feel like they make bombs with the exception of spiderman. They might as well get rid of that.
 
I

injurai

Banned
KTallguy said:
I loved my Vaio but I wish it wasn't saddled with all the bad things about Sony computers.

Good:
  • High Quality Materials
  • Killer Design
  • Decent Reliability

Bad:
  • Crap is loaded onto the computer that I have to get rid of.
  • Drivers for buttons on the computer stop working with Win 7, updates don't fix it.
  • A bit too expensive, but really not that bad.

I would buy another Vaio if they fixed those bad things.
Click to expand...

I clean installed windows, and have never had driver issues. In fact it was the cheapest solution that gave me everything that I needed.

My one complaint is it has the shittiest speakers I have ever seen. Luckily I would rather use headphones.
 
D

Deleted member 22576

Unconfirmed Member
What if Lenovo made a modern iteration of the Vaio P?
6b9NKNR.jpg


:Q___
 
Wiktor

Wiktor

Member
I don't get why Lenovo would be interested. They make better laptops, their brands are stronger, their engineers and technology better and Sony is such a petite player in PC market that it doesn't even make sense to take them over marketshare wise.
 
L

Limit

Member
massoluk said:
Who's buying? I can't think of one, Vaio doesn't have that big of a brand recognition these days
Click to expand...

Its says in the OP that Sony will be creating a new company, of which Sony will own a small share, that just does Vaio business .
 
B

Bundy

Banned
terrisus said:
Their main focuses also used to include music, television, and computers as well.
So... Why not?
Click to expand...
Yeah... "was" over ten years ago.
Since Kaz took over, it's Game, Digital Imaging and Mobile.
And it's a very stong (and famous) brand worldwide.
So no, it's surely not "on the table to sell".
 
D

Deleted member 22576

Unconfirmed Member
AdrianWerner said:
I don't get why Lenovo would be interested. They make better laptops, their brands are stronger, their engineers and technology better and Sony is such a petite player in PC market that it doesn't even make sense to take them over marketshare wise.
Click to expand...
I don't know.. Over the years the VAIO brand has been one of the only reliably impressive notebook brands. They've put out a lot of attractive and beautiful designs over the years. Thinkpads are nice, but boring. Theres been a few attractive voodoo branded notebooks, but there isn't another brand of notebooks that has had ~20 years of consistently attractive design besides maybe Apple's. I think there is a lot of value for Lenovo here.
 
P

Pandaman

Everything is moe to me
terrisus said:
Their main focuses also used to include music, television, and computers as well.
So... Why not?
Click to expand...
It's not a 'why not' question.
Unless you're bringing a specific 'why' to the table, he wins by default.

so why do you think the playstation brand as it is now would be seen as a liability going forward and would be worth selling off.
 
S

Sami+

Member
I thought that, PS3 notwithstanding, SCE was one of their more profitable branches. The future is looking very bright for PlayStation right now as well. Can't imagine why they'd want to just sell it off.

The camera division needs to go though. Non-SLR digital cameras are almost useless nowadays anyway, and it'll only get worse with time.
 
I

injurai

Banned
AdrianWerner said:
I don't get why Lenovo would be interested. They make better laptops, their brands are stronger, their engineers and technology better and Sony is such a petite player in PC market that it doesn't even make sense to take them over marketshare wise.
Click to expand...

I personally find Lenovo's offerings very lackluster. Outside of their smaller Thinkpads, their large W series are behemoth heavy tanks not suited for portability. Their Ideapads and other higher end 15" models really fall short. They look like old HPs in style, ugly bezels and are thick.

Samsung, Apple, Sony are amongst the few that make good slim and powerful 15" laptops, so there is certainly value in acquiring access to what makes that sort of manufacturing possible.

terrisus said:
Their main focuses also used to include music, television, and computers as well.
So... Why not?
Click to expand...

please don't make this thread about this.
 
D

Deleted member 22576

Unconfirmed Member
I'm gonna put together a mega post of Sony's many different brands.
Heavily featuring the X-PLOD line of car and boat audio equipment
 
L

lenovox1

Member
mr stroke said:
Really?

It sucks, as IMO Sony makes some of the nicest windows pc's around
Click to expand...

Nicest looking, but they're consistently getting outclassed in both price and features. Everything they do right now, someone does it that much better or that much cheaper. They can't find a foothold in a premium or entry-level PC market right now and for a quite a while now.
 
I

injurai

Banned
lenovox1 said:
Nicest looking, but they're consistently getting outclassed in both price and features. Everything they do right now, someone does it that much better or that much cheaper. They can't find a foothold in a premium or entry-level PC market right now and for a quite a while now.
Click to expand...

It's sort of annoying me that this is peoples impressions. I probably spent a good month of researching what was out their back in fall 2012, and the Vaio S was the best value out of anything in the $900-1100 range.

I don't know where they stand now that Win8 is out, but it was my impression they had some of the better hybrid tablets as well.
 
D

Deleted member 22576

Unconfirmed Member
Did you guys know Sony once released a compact CD boombox on a motorized remote controlled stand so you could swivel it to face towards you?
 
M

massoluk

Banned
AdrianWerner said:
The funny thing is that Lenovo Yoga actually started like something like this, but ultimatelly they dropped the concept and went for full laptop

Pocket-Yoga-normal-use-300x230.jpg
Click to expand...

I hope someone takes another crack at these things. Tech and OS (Android/Win8) are much more accomodating for them now.
 
H

Horsemama1956

Member
Just one less asset to sell when the next report shows the company is still failing leading to the eventual sale of the Playstation division to Microsoft.
 
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