Sony is mulling over the possibility of selling its Vaio PC arm, according to a fresh report emanating from Japan.
The company is said to be in talks with a Japanese investment fund to offload its struggling computer business, with the intention of focusing more on its smartphone output.
Nikkei claims that Japan Industrial Partners will form a new company to purchase Sony’s entire PC business for between 40 billion and 50 billion yen - that’s between £239 million and £299 million.
The company will apparently retain Sony’s Vaio brand, and will also keep many of the 1,000-strong Vaio team of staff intact. Others will be found new positions within Sony. There are even discussions over continuing to use Sony’s R&D and production site in Nagano.
Add in the fact that Sony will take a small stake in the new company, and it may seem as if very little would change following such a deal. However, the new-look Vaio will withdraw from most foreign markets and focus mainly on home sales. It will remain in foreign territories only where the brand is strong.
According to research firm IDC, Sony claimed a mere 1.9 percent share of all PCs shipped between January and September last year. That makes it the ninth biggest PC manufacturer in the world.
Though Sony doesn’t reveal separate earnings figures for its Vaio PC division, it’s widely believed to be making considerable losses.
An earlier report had claimed that Sony was in talks with Lenovo over a possible Vaio sale, but this has since been denied by Sony.
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