Sony Corp said on Thursday that it had agreed to sell its production facilities for the powerful computer chip at the heart of its struggling Playstation 3 game console to rival Toshiba Corp.
The deal, reportedly worth over $1-billion, is part of Sony’s efforts to refocus on its core electronics business and staunch losses from the PS3 in the face of fierce competition from Nintendo’s Wii.
The two companies will set up a joint venture to produce high-performance semiconductors under the basic deal, which they hope to finalise by next March.
No price tag was revealed although the Nikkei business daily reported earlier that the total deal was worth an estimated 130-billion yen ($1.1-billion).
“We haven’t confirmed the precise asset value,” said Sony spokesperson Chisato Kitsukawa.
Last Updated: October 24, 2007
