Sony to sell 37-story New York headquarters for $1.1bn

PanARMENIAN.Net - Sony Corp.’s U.S. unit said it agreed to sell its 37-story New York headquarters to investors led by the Chetrit Group for $1.1 billion, Bloomberg reports.

Sony said it expects the sale of 550 Madison Ave. to generate net cash proceeds of about $770 million after repaying debt tied to the building and other transaction costs. The company and other units of the Japanese parent, including Sony Music Entertainment, will remain in the building for up to three years, Sony said in a statement released in New York.

The Tokyo-based electronics maker is selling assets and cutting jobs to end four straight years of losses amid falling demand for televisions, competition from Samsung Electronics Co. and a strong yen. The company has predicted a 20 billion-yen ($223 million) profit for the year ending March 31, following a record 457 billion-yen loss a year earlier. Sony said it’s reevaluating its forecast of consolidated results for the year to reflect the building sale.

Sony said it expects to record an operating-income gain of about $685 million from the sale, scheduled for completion in March.

“Given the opportunities and challenges in the current economic and real estate landscape, selling 550 Madison now is a timely and logical strategic move,” Nicole Seligman, president of Sony Corp. of America, said in the statement. “Regarding our new headquarters, we continue to look at a number of spaces in Manhattan but have not yet made a decision about where to lease.”