PS4 company Sony to sell its entire stake in Square Enix, valued at around $47 million

PlayStation 4 company Sony will sell its entire stake in Final Fantasy developer Square Enix, Sony announced today in a Japanese news release. Translated by the Wall Street Journal, the announcement states that Sony will unload its entire position, 9.52 million shares, in a transaction worth around ¥4.8 billion yen ($47 million).

Major Japanese brokerage firm SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. will oversee the transfer. The deal is expected to be officially closed on April 17. It is the latest example of Sony attempting to become more efficient and boost profitability.

In the past year, Sony has announced that it will sell two major office buildings, lay off thousands of employees, and even sell its PC division as a means to return to profitability.

You might be surprised to learn that Sony held a stake in Square Enix, but in fact the PlayStation company's investment in the Final Fantasy studio dates back to the early 2000s. The Wall Street Journal points out that Sony actually held 8.2 percent of Square Enix's total shares.