Report: Sony Looks to Sell PC Division to Japanese Investment Firm

[Alex Co]

Report: Sony Looks to Sell PC Division to Japanese Investment Firm

Sony might be looking to exit the PC business and it won't be Lenovo who's absorbing the divison as previously reported.

Following last month's news that a ratings firm have downgraded Sony's credit value to "junk" status [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/131674-Sony-Debt-Rating-Gets-Downgraded-to-Junk-Status], a report on Nikkei claims Sony is in talks to sell it's money-draining PC division to Japanese investment fund, Japan Industrial Partners, and concentrate its focus on smartphones. The investment company is said to establish a new entity that would take over Sony's entire PC division, with the sale price estimated to be 40 billion to 50 billion Yen ($391 million to $489 million).

Contrary to previous reports, Lenovo won't be the buyer of Sony's Vaio business. "A press report on February 1, 2014, stated that Sony ... is discussing with Lenovo Group the possible establishment of a joint venture for the PC business. As Sony has announced previously, Sony continues to address various options for the PC business, but the press report on a possible PC business alliance between Sony and Lenovo is inaccurate," Sony said in a statement.

If the buyout is true, the new company "would continue to sell PCs under the Vaio brand and also handle after-sales service," with Sony only taking a small stake in the firm, the Nikkei report states.

We'll update the story once further developments arises.

Source: CNET [http://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Deals/Sony-looking-to-sell-PC-business-to-investment-fund]

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[munx13]

Maybe if they didn't overprice their Vaio line this wouldn't be happening.

Was looking for a laptop not long ago and I just skipped through Sony's ones because I could get the same hardware for 2-3X less from asus/acer/Hp and whatnot.

 

[O maestre]

About time! VAIO has had great hsrdware but always an inexcusable amount of bloated software, and as another poster mentioned, sony has always sold them at a much higher price.

 

[havoc33]

Maybe if they didn't overprice their Vaio line this wouldn't be happening.

Was looking for a laptop not long ago and I just skipped through Sony's ones because I could get the same hardware for 2-3X less from asus/acer/Hp and whatnot.

Sony is a mid to high end manufacturer. You can't expect them to compete with Asus and Acer.

The Vaio line is a quality product, and I hate to see them abandon it. Bought a laptop from them myself last summer and I'm very, very happy with it. Fast and sleek, just top build all around.

 

[Flutterguy]

Sony products have a habit of being overpriced. Albeit good but not worth my money, like Apple. Doesn't particularly phase me.

 

[O maestre]

Maybe if they didn't overprice their Vaio line this wouldn't be happening.

Was looking for a laptop not long ago and I just skipped through Sony's ones because I could get the same hardware for 2-3X less from asus/acer/Hp and whatnot.

Sony is a mid to high end manufacturer. You can't expect them to compete with Asus and Acer.

The Vaio line is a quality product, and I hate to see them abandon it. Bought a laptop from them myself last summer and I'm very, very happy with it. Fast and sleek, just top build all around.

I recently had to buy myself a new ultra book and when I checked the specs of VAIO pc's and compare them to their competition, they were on average 200-300$ more expensive despite the hardware being the same.

plus all the useless software that they bundle along is kind of annoying. I have no doubt that they are good and efficient machines, but they are too expensive at least in my recent experience.

Also I didn't like the N trigger, they should have licensed wacom instead.

 

[snave]

The 2013 line-up and full range rebrand (end of Letter-Series range, beginning of Fit/Pro/Duo etc) actually went a long way towards fixing the ludicrous mark-up in price. I daresay they were some of the most competitively priced machines for their specs on the market. And models with Windows Pro also finally came without bloatware, a longstanding pain with Vaios. Unfortunately, they were also all saddled with defective wi-fi cards, subsequent bad press, and after stonewalling customers: a series of 100+ page threads on their support forums with more than the odd mention of possible class actions.

Here's the clincher though: since then, much of the new lineup has simply been discontinued in the late 2013 pre-Christmas range including their only full-spec notebook (from which the brand name -- "Fit" -- has now been removed and slapped on a convertible netbook). And of those original models still being manufactured, the prices have been jacked up by 150% with the only real improvement being an upgrade from defective wi-fi cards to passable ones.

You really begin to wonder what planet Sony's marketing department are living on.

 

[AstaresPanda]

Thats always been the issue with sony, just overpriced for what they are. Last Sony product i paid for was my MiniDisc walkman was fucking cool. Still have it. Its a shame but kinda only got themselves to blame

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

Maybe if they didn't overprice their Vaio line this wouldn't be happening.

Was looking for a laptop not long ago and I just skipped through Sony's ones because I could get the same hardware for 2-3X less from asus/acer/Hp and whatnot.

Sony is a mid to high end manufacturer. You can't expect them to compete with Asus and Acer.

The Vaio line is a quality product, and I hate to see them abandon it. Bought a laptop from them myself last summer and I'm very, very happy with it. Fast and sleek, just top build all around.

I don't know how mid to high quality you think the Vaios were when other products outdo them for literally 1/3 the price. Vaio was more of an import name than a mark of quality. My Asus outdoes most if not all Vaios of equal price.

 

[Atmos Duality]

Maybe if they didn't overprice their Vaio line this wouldn't be happening.

Was looking for a laptop not long ago and I just skipped through Sony's ones because I could get the same hardware for 2-3X less from asus/acer/Hp and whatnot.

Sony is a mid to high end manufacturer. You can't expect them to compete with Asus and Acer.

The Vaio line is a quality product, and I hate to see them abandon it. Bought a laptop from them myself last summer and I'm very, very happy with it. Fast and sleek, just top build all around.

I don't know how mid to high quality you think the Vaios were when other products outdo them for literally 1/3 the price. Vaio was more of an import name than a mark of quality. My Asus outdoes most if not all Vaios of equal price.

Likewise. With college subsidy I effectively paid 800 bucks for a good ASUS laptop that can also handily crunch the numbers my career and hobbies involve (weather forecast models).

I've enjoyed the craftsmanship of the few Sony products I've ever owned, but little else beyond that because holy fuck are they pricey compared to just about anything else. (always have been)