Sony to sell half its stake in Olympus to fund strategic investments

Sony agreed to sell half its stake in Olympus to fund strategic investments, just two years after the Japanese companies formed a medical-device venture.

Sony entered into a contract to sell the shares to JPMorgan Chase, reducing its Olympus holding to about 5 per cent, the electronics maker said in a statement Wednesday. The stock sold for 71.8 billion yen (€554 million), Sony said in a separate release Thursday.

Tokyo-based Sony, the largest shareholder in the maker of endoscopes and cameras, pared its holdings after agreeing in 2012 to pay 50 billion yen for the stake.

The electronics maker said it will book a 46.8 billion-yen windfall from the deal in the current quarter.

Sony’s shares rose 2.8 per cent to 3,326.5 yen at the closes in Tokyo trading. Olympus fell 3.9 per cent to 4,250 yen, the biggest drop since January 6.

“We plan to use the funds to strengthen our financial base and for growth investments,” said Koji Kurata, a spokesman for Sony. “We still intend to continue collaborating and maintain our partnership.”

Chief executive officer Kazuo Hirai has said he wants Sony to move into health-care equipment by using the edge its image sensors have over rivals. Those sensors also are used in smartphones and compact cameras.

Bloomberg