Dan Loeb’s pitch to break up Sony lifts stock
Sony shares got a boost Friday on hopes billionaire investor Dan Loeb will persuade the conglomerate to shed one of its “crown jewels.”
Loeb argued in an eight-page letter to shareholders and 102-page slideshow Thursday that the tech-and-entertainment empire should sell its semiconductors division and instead focus on video games, music, movies and television.
It was Loeb’s first public acknowledgment of his stake in Sony despite months of reports.
Sony shares rose 3.3 percent to $51.33 Friday.
The semiconductor business, which Loeb suggested could be called Sony Technologies, could be a $35 billion public company by 2024, Loeb said as he disclosed a 2.4 percent stake worth $1.5 billion.
“Rather than just an uncut rough stone buried inside Sony’s portfolio, Sony Technologies would be visible as a Japanese crown jewel and technology champion,” Loeb wrote.
This marks Loeb’s second attempt to get Sony to reconfigure its businesses. Back in 2013, Loeb’s Third Point unsuccessfully lobbied to get Sony to spin off its movie and music groups.
Loeb was rebuffed and earned the scorn of the Hollywood elite, with George Clooney calling him a “carpetbagger” who was trying to “spread a climate of fear” so that studios would only make “tent pole” blockbuster films.
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While Loeb was unsuccessful in getting Sony to change its ways then, he walked away in 2014 with a 20 percent profit on his investment.
Loeb’s current tango with Sony seems less acrimonious so far, with the hedgie saying Sony is on a “better path operationally” than it was six years ago.
Last month The Post reported that Loeb and Sony agreed to play nice in this go-around, with Sony even hiring two investment banks — Goldman Sachs and Lazard — to help the bank shed non-core assets and find other ways to create shareholder value.
Loeb presented his ideas to Sony shareholders and executives earlier, and while they didn’t openly support his ideas, they also didn’t push back, the Financial Times reported.
However, last month Sony announced a partnership with Microsoft in which the rival video game console makers would work together to bolster their streaming services and collaborate on ways to use Sony’s semiconductors and Microsoft’s cloud technology.
Sony also announced plans last month to buy back as much as $1.8 billion in stock.
Sony did not immediately comment.
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