FILE PHOTO – The Sony logo is seen on a building in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., January 16, 2019. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
TOKYO (Reuters) – Sony Corp (6758.T) will turn its financial arm, Sony Financial Holdings Inc (8729.T), into a wholly owned unit through a tender offer worth about 400 billion yen ($3.72 billion), the Nikkei business daily reported on Tuesday.
The deal, to be completed this summer, will allow the Japanese electronics and entertainment giant to strengthen its presence in the fintech field to compete with global tech giants such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA.N) and Apple Inc (AAPL.O), the newspaper said.
Sony plans to offer about 2,600 yen for each Sony Financial share – beyond the 65% stake it currently owns – for a premium of about 30% over Monday’s closing price of 2,064 yen, the Nikkei said.
The early-afternoon report sent shares of Sony Financial up nearly 17% to 2,412 yen before trading of the stock was suspended, while Sony Corp shares rose 4%.
Sony was not immediately available to comment when contacted by Reuters.
Sony Financial reported a net profit of 171.09 billion yen in the year ended in March.
($1 = 107.4000 yen)
Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Christopher Cushing