On March 23, according to Bloomberg, people familiar with the matter said,Sony Group is closing in on a binding deal to sell a majority stake in its home entertainment business to Chinese rival TCL Electronics. The deal could be valued at about $1 billion.
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People familiar with the matter said negotiations between the two parties have made progress and are striving to announce a deal as early as this month. Although negotiations have entered an advanced stage, the two sides have not yet made a final decision.
A Sony representative said the company is continuing negotiations to reach a final agreement and will make an announcement as soon as it is finalized. TCL has not yet commented.
In January this year, Sony and TCL signed a memorandum of intent, and the two parties agreed to further negotiate on future strategic cooperation in the field of home entertainment. According to the memorandum of intent, the two parties confirmed their intention to establish a joint venture company to undertake Sony's home entertainment business, with TCL holding 51% of the shares and Sony holding 49%.And it conducts integrated business operations globally from product development, design, manufacturing, sales, logistics to customer service, including products such as televisions and home audio.
The two parties plan to negotiate on a legally binding final agreement before the end of March 2026. After the final agreement is signed and approval from relevant competent authorities and other conditions are met, the new company is expected to begin operations in April 2027.
Sony has focused in recent years on expanding its portfolio of intellectual property assets, including anime, live-action movies, music and sports broadcasts, while scaling back its consumer electronics business. TCL is one of the oldest and largest electronics conglomerates in China and has been committed to building a strong overseas business for many years.
Since the beginning of this year, Sony's share price in the Tokyo market has fallen by 21%, and the company's market value has dropped to US$123 billion. During the same period, TCL’s share price in the Hong Kong market rose by approximately 4%, with its market value reaching US$3.5 billion.