Sony (SONY) Shares Are Surging Premarket: Company Eyes Sony Financial Arm IPO - Sony Gr (NYSE:SONY)

Sony Group Corp SONY is exploring a partial spinoff and separate listing for its financial unit in two to three years.
Sony looks to retain just under 20% of Sony Financial Group Inc and sell its shares on a Japanese exchange, Bloomberg cites from its strategy briefing.
The potential spinoff would reverse a $3.7 billion take-private deal concluded in 2020 over FY23.
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The spinoff will help the firm to bag more considerable investment for Sony’s image sensor and entertainment businesses, COO Hiroki Totoki said at the briefing.
Sony set up the Sony Financial unit in 2004, which now operates Sony Bank as one of the few online-only banks in Japan. The financial division was likely to rake in most of the conglomerate’s operating profit, but in recent years the focus has shifted to Sony’s entertainment business.
The potential spinoff coincides with growing challenges in Sony’s core business groups.
In April, Sony offered a conservative profit outlook for FY23, warning that it expects to sell fewer games from in-house PlayStation Studios teams and that the slump in global consumer spending would continue.
The smartphone market is also unlikely to rebound until next year, Totoki said then, though Sony is not considering spinning off its chip division, he added on Thursday.
Price Action: SONY shares are trading higher by 4.28% at $99.40 premarket on the last check Thursday.

Sony Shares Are Surging Premarket: Company Eyes Sony Financial Arm IPO