Sony Corp. has completed the sale of its Vaio personal computer business to a Tokyo-based investment fund and split its television operation as it restructures to turn around its flagging electronics business.
Sony's Vaio-brand PC business in Japan was transferred to a company named Vaio Corp., which was set up Tuesday with investment by Japan Industrial Partners Inc., while its TV operation was spun off into a wholly owned unit, Sony Visual Products Inc.
Vaio President Takayuki Sekitori pledged at a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday that he will make its business profitable, aiming to sell 300,000 to 350,000 personal computers, without Sony's logo, in fiscal 2015 ending March 2016.
"We will strategically select and concentrate (business resources)," and cut fixed costs and accelerate operation speed as a small company, he said.
Owned 95 percent by Japan Industrial Partners and 5 percent by Sony, Vaio is headquartered in Azumino, Nagano Prefecture, and has a workforce of 240.
Sony's new TV unit is also aiming to return its business to the black after incurring losses for the past decade.
Sony Visual Products President Masashi Imamura said Monday the company will focus on high value-added products such as 4K televisions to turn a profit in fiscal 2014.
Sony's electronics business has been deteriorating in the face of increasing international competition.
The company reported a group net loss of ¥128.37 billion in the business year that ended in March and is expected to remain in the red this year with a loss of ¥50 billion, primarily due to restructuring costs connected to the PC business.