Sony exits PC business; sells VAIO to focus on Smartphone

The PC market has gone stagnant with no sign the segment making any come back in the foreseeable future and keeping that in mind consumer electronics giant Sony has announced that it will sell VAIO, the personal-computer business to reduce their losses.

According to PTI report, the business division which handles VAIO range of notebooks has been bought by Japan Industrial Partners (JIP). "Sony and JIP Thursday concluded a memorandum of understanding confirming the parties' intent for Sony to sell to JIP Sony's PC business currently operated under the VAIO brand," Sony said in a statement.

In addition to that, Sony has decided to split its television division and form that into a separate unit. The world's No. 3 TV maker has seen sales of its key products dip as it struggled to find new hits and consumers shift to mobile devices of Apple and Samsung. It has lost ground in the TV business as well in a contracting market.

As a part of the business transfer, Sony will stop planning, design and development of PC products and production and sales will also be discontinued after the Spring 2014 lineup to be launched globally, the statement added.

However, VAIO customers will continue to receive customer services and about 250-300 Sony Corporation and Sony EMCS Corporation employees involved in PC operations are expected to be hired by the new company established by JIP, it said.

"Also Sony expects to allocate a further 70 billion yen (approximate) in restructuring charges in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2015, in order to implement these measures, which are expected to result in annual fixed cost reductions of more than 100 billion yen (approximate) starting in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2016," it said.