HOORAY FOR HIRAI
CEO Kazuo Hirai told investors at Sony’s annual meeting that movies and music are an integral part of the company’s business, just days after hedgefund Third Point renewed calls for a spinoff of those assets, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Daniel Loeb's Third Point, which has a 7% stake in Sony, has proposed an IPO for up to 20% of Sony's music and movie businesses, arguing that will help unlock value at the entertainment arm, which Loeb claims is undervalued and underperforming compared with peers. The proceeds, he argued, could fund efforts to turn around Sony's struggling electronics business.
The first question asked during the Q&A portion of the shareholders’ meeting concerned the proposal. “The explanation regarding the hedge fund proposal that you provided in your speech is essentially the same as has been reported in newspapers,” said a private investor. "Can you give us shareholders some more information as to Sony's response?"
Hirai fielded the query as smoothly as Ichiro Suzuki settling under a fly ball. “The entertainment business is extremely important in order to realize our growth strategy, "he replied. "We're going take our time at board meetings to thoroughly debatethe matter from all angles. This is a very critical proposal that will affect the future of Sony."
As Bloomberg points out in its coverage of the meeting, pressure for a spinoff comes as the company enjoys a newfound winning streak, propelled by higher-than-expected PlayStation4 orders, plans for third and fourth installments of the Amazing Spider-Man movie franchise and other developments.
According to WSJ’s RealtimeJapan blog, Hirai was showered with compliments from shareholders for his strong leadership, passion for the company and for being an ikemen—Japanese slang combining the Japanese word for “cool” or “good” with the English word "men." It’s used frequently to label a man as good-looking.
“I’ve been a longtime fan of Sony, and for Sony to have an extremely ikemen CEO, it makes me happy. This is all,” said one shareholder during the Q&A session, in language resembling that of dubbed English in a1960s Japanese sci-fi movie.
