Sony unlocks value for investors

Article Excerpt

SONY CORP. ADRs, $64, is still a hold. The Japanese conglomerate (New York symbol SNE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; ADRs outstanding: 1.3 billion; Market cap: $83.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.8; Dividend yield: 0.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.sony.net) plans to sell some of its shares in its real estate subsidiary, SRE Holdings, to the public. Those shares will begin trading on the Tokyo exchange on December 19, 2019. Right now, Sony owns 53.01% of the real estate unit; Z Holdings (and its parent firm SoftBank Group) owns the other 41.16%. Sony expects to record a gain on the sale, which would boost shareholder value. However, the company continues to resist demands from activist investor Daniel Loeb to sell more of its less important assets. assets…