Sony moving forward with plan for entertainment IPO - Report

Sony has brought on financial firms Morgan Stanley and Citigroup to help the PlayStation maker consider a proposal to split the company apart, Bloomberg reports.

Billionaire hedge fund manager Daniel S. Loeb--who owns a 6 percent stake in Sony worth about $1.1 billion--has proposed that the company spin off its entertainment business by selling as much as 20 percent of its assets in an initial public offering.

This move would allow Sony's electronics division--which includes the PlayStation business--to thrive, according to a letter Loeb and Third Point LLC sent to Sony earlier this month.

"To maximize Sony's overall success, we believe the Company should change the structure of its ownership of Sony Entertainment," Third Point said at the time. "Doing so will strengthen Sony by reducing its burdensome debt, thereby providing additional resources and capital to focus on revitalizing the resurgent Sony Electronics."

Sony CEO Kaz Hirai has said the company is considering Loeb's plan, though "it's only a start."