Sony Prepare to Be Selling VAIO And Exit PC Business

Sony will sell off its lackluster PC division and focus on spinning off its TV business into a standalone
entity by June. The company's announcement confirms a report yesterday that Japan Industrial Partners planned to purchase the VAIO brand. The
amount of the deal was not disclosed, but Nikkei
reported that it may be up to 50 billion yen ($490
million).

The deal will be finalized by the end of March. Sony
said it will cut 5,000 jobs worldwide by the end of
this fiscal year, but the new PC company plans to hire
about 250 to 500 Sony employees and continue to fill
aftercare warranties. Sony will initially invest 5% of
the new company's capital to support its launch.

The sale of VAIO isn't a big surprise, as Sony's PC
business has long underperformed its other divisions.
Indeed, when Kazuo Hirai took over as president and
CEO of Sony in 2012, he didn't even list PCs as one
of the company's cornerstones. Instead, he said
Sony's future rested on digital imaging, gaming, and mobile. But even though Sony has consistently
released innovative products in all three categories,
including its Xperia smartphone line, its performance still lags behind competitors like Samsung and
Android.