Sony is looking to offload its loss-making Vaio personal computer business. According to Japanese news service Nikkei, the company is in talks with investment fund Japan Industrial Partners to negotiate a possible deal, which is estimated at 40 to 50 billion yen ($391 to $489 million). The sale plan only includes Vaio operations in Japan.
As per the report, Japan Industrial Partners would set up a new company and Sony would take a small stake in it to facilitate the transfer. Aside from offloading its Vaio business in Japan, the company may also close its PC division overseas, except from those regions where the Vaio brand name is well known.
Sony's decision to sell its PC division is seen as part of a business overhaul designed to shift focus to smartphones. The company's Xperia handsets have been well received by users as well as critics. This, coupled with the fact that global PC shipments are declining, makes sense for Sony to offload it's money-loosing PC business and focus on handheld devices instead.
As far as Sony's PC division staff is concerned, which is nearly 1000 in strength, most of them will be part of the new company, while others will be shifted to different departments within Sony.
Just last Sunday, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported that Lenovo was in talks with Sony for a possible establishment of a joint venture for the PC business. The company labeled the report as "inaccurate".
According to a Bloomberg report, the announcement related to the deal could come as early as tomorrow.