Daniel Loeb's Third Point Sells Off All Its US Shares In Sony

Third Point LLC, a hedge fund led by billionaire investor Daniel Loeb, has shed all its investments in Sony Corp’s SNE American Depositary Receipts, Reuters reported Tuesday.

What Happened

The fund owned 1.5 million Sony ADRs at the end of December, valued at $100 million. These holdings fell to 675,000 at March-end and ceased to exist at end-June, according to Reuters.

The hedge fund continues to hold Sony’s Japanese shares, an unnamed source of Reuters revealed.

Third Point was said to be raising an investment worth $500 million to $1 billion in capital to purchase Sony shares last year. The investor had reportedly been urging Sony to spin off its chip unit and sell its non-core businesses such as Sony Financial Holdings Inc. SNYFY and transform itself as an entertainment firm.

Why It Matters

Sony instead converted its financial subsidiary Sony Financial Holdings into a wholly-owned unit through a tender offer worth $3.72 billion in May.

The Japanese conglomerate rejected the calls to spin off its chip unit, describing it as a “crucial growth driver,” Reuters noted. Sony shares have risen 80% since last April when Third Point reportedly started building its stake.

This is the second time Loeb has tried to exert influence over Sony in six years, as per Reuters. 

The fund manager’s Third Point Reinsurance Ltd TPRE announced this month it was merging with Sirius International Insurance Group, Ltd SG to form a new entity with tangible capital of $3.3 billion. 

Price Action 

Sony shares closed nearly 0.6% lower at $82.98 on Tuesday and gained almost 0.4% in the after-hours session.