Sony Corp. said Wednesday that its board of directors will consider a proposal by a U.S. hedge fund to put on the stock market a minority stake in Sony's entertainment division, retracting an earlier statement that they won't be put up for sale.
Daniel Loeb, the hedge fund billionaire who heads the U.S.-based Third Point LLC — Sony's major stakeholder — suggested last week that the firm take its entertainment units public to free up capital for its electronics business.
Sony Chief Executive Officer Kazuo Hirai admitted Wednesday that Loeb proposed placing 15 to 20 percent of the entertainment division's stake on the market, not to separate the entity.