Despite countless rumors and reports about its future Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai told investors and reporters in Japan today that the company is not going to sell of its TV business. The TV business has been dragging its heels for the past couple of years. Back in 2012 it was burning through money and many investors pressed Sony to dump it. However Hirai maintained even then that the division could be brought back into the green.
What the company will do instead is spin it off, however Hirai was quick to point out that this step should be viewed as if the wheels were being set in motion for a sale. The company is open to the idea of taking on an equity partner for the TV business spin off, this way the partner would share Sony’s risk as well as growth in the business. The spin off, called Sony Visual Products Inc, will be up and running in a few months time.
Talking to investors and reports Sony CEO said that he wouldn’t “rule out the possibility of an equity tie-up, but right now we are not doing business under the assumption that would happen.”
Hirai did acknowledge the possibility that Sony TV sales might fall below the company’s forecast of a 20 percent rise in this fiscal year, adding that the TV business has been restructured to withstand external pressure.