Sony buys back Kutaragi's stake in SCE
The division of Sony responsible for the PlayStation product line, Sony Computer Entertainment, is to become a wholly owned subsidiary thanks to a new deal which will see Ken Kutaragi returning his stake to the parent company.
The division of Sony responsible for the PlayStation product line, Sony Computer Entertainment, is to become a wholly owned subsidiary thanks to a new deal which will see Ken Kutaragi returning his stake to the parent company.
Under the terms of the deal, Kutaragi's 100 shares in SCE - which he has held since 1996, and which represent a 0.26 per cent stake in the company - will be exchanged for 1 million shares in Sony, a stake of around 0.1 per cent.
This makes Kutaragi, who is hotly tipped as the next president of Sony thanks to the ongoing success of the PlayStation, which is now being integrated into other product areas in the hope that some of the "magic" will rub off, into a major individual shareholder in the parent company.
His new stake will be worth in the region of 3.8 billion Yen (â'¬29 million) at current prices. Sony already held the outstanding 99.74 per cent of SCE, and as such will now own the subsidiary outright.