Yahoo Finance Sony Sells Off Original Tokyo HQ Amid Reform
Struggling Japanese electronic giant Sony (Berlin: SON1.BE - news) has sold the site where its headquarters were located for six decades.
The £93m deal with Sumitomo Realty and Development will be completed in April, the company said.
The move comes as it battles to sustain profits amid major restructuring to maintain its viability in the electronics sector.
Last year, Sony said it was selling its 37-storey US headquarters in New York City's Madison Avenue for $1.1bn (£660m) to help bolster its bottom line after repeated annual losses.
The properties being sold in the Japanese capital are in the Gotenyama area, close to the city's Shinagawa railway station.
Seven years ago, Sony sold off a slice of land at the site and moved to a new corporate location near Shinagawa.
The company was founded in 1946 amid the rubble left by the Second World War.
It moved to Gotenyama the following year and grew into a global icon, bolstered by the famous Walkman personal stereo and television technology.
But it has struggled in recent years to maintain cutting edge in mobile music - usurped by Apple (NasdaqGS: AAPL - news) 's iPod and other MP3 players - and television technology.
It has sought to recover some ground through the launch of its PlayStation 4 games console.
The company has been propped up in recent years through profitable film, music and financial services sectors.
Sony will maintain links to the area in Tokyo, with a museum highlighting its groundbreaking products.
Along with rivals Sharp and Panasonic (Berlin: MAT1.BE - news) , the Japanese icons have been undermined recently by foreign firms, especially from South Korea and China.
Although Sony saw a modest return to profit in its last financial year, it has forecast a loss of around £600m when its results are due next month.
It previously announced plans to slash 5,000 jobs and depart from the PC market, which has suffered from mobile computing.
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