This article was published on January 10, 2013

Struggling Sony eyes sale and lease-back of freshly-completed Tokyo building for $1.5 billion


Struggling Sony eyes sale and lease-back of freshly-completed Tokyo building for $1.5 billion

Sony is reported to be eyeing up the sale of one of its major offices in Tokyo in order to raise between Y100 billion ($1.14 billion) and Y130 billion ($1.48 billion) to help the company overcome crippling losses and overturn its electronics businesses.

Dow Jones reports that the Japanese company has a similar objective to that of rival smartphone maker Nokia, which recently sold its Espoo headquarters to Finnish company Exilion in a deal worth €170 million. The company then leased the property back, as it sought to reduce costs as part of its new smartphone and mobile strategies.

The Sony City Osaki building was completed only two years ago and serves as one of the company’s major R&D departments, holding over 5,000 employees in television, audio, and other divisions.

In recent months, Sony provided further details on its restructuring plans, including a decision to close a lens factory and cut 2,000 jobs through early retirement. The reorganization, which began back in April, will see an overall headcount reduction by as much as 10,000. Sony also sold off its chemical products business as part of the trimming down.

Sony is also looking to sell off its battery unit, after several investment banks enquired about assisting in the sale of the business, which could raise a further $633 million.

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In its fiscal second quarter, Sony managed to hold on to modest operating profits, reporting $20 billion (¥1.604 trillion) in revenue and $388 million (¥30.3 billion) in operating income, but it did post a net loss of $198 million (¥15.5 billion).

Image Credit: Sony

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