According to the latest information in the Nikkei daily newspaper , it seems that Sony will sell its PC segment to a Japanese investment fund, Japan Industrial Partners . This action is to "get rid of the personal computer business - which is stagnant and does not produce much profit, " the source revealed. However, the two sides are still in the negotiation process but not yet to the " final ".
In the case of a signed deal, the Japan Industrial Partners will set up a company to take over Sony's entire PC business. The price of this division is estimated at 40-50 billion yen, equivalent to 391 - 489 million USD. The computers sold will still retain the familiar Vaio brand but after-sales service will be undertaken by the new company. Sony may hold a small stake in this company, Nikkei said.
Previously, another rumor appeared about Sony negotiating to resell the PC segment to Lenovo. However, Sony has confirmed to CNET that this information is inaccurate. " As we said before, Sony will continue to consider options for personal computers, but the article about Sony and Lenovo may alliance together to produce computers is not correct. " , Sony representative stated.
Sony has not yet made any comments regarding Japan Industrial Partners as well as the article on Nikkei.
At this point, Sony's PC array is losing money because it can't avoid the general downturn of the market. January data from research firm Gartner revealed that PC sales were down 10% in 2013, returning to 2009 levels. This could be considered the worst decline in the market ever. computer school.