Dubai Firm Buys 'Substantial' Stake In Sony

A Dubai based investment firm has acquired a “substantial” investment in Sony Corp., rumored to be worth $500 million. Dubai International Capital, the international investment arm of Dubai Holding, has not released any details of the financial terms of the purchase. Although the company refused to confirm the exact size of the investment, earlier in the month CEO Sameer al-Ansari claimed that he planned to purchase a $500 million stake in an unnamed “Japanese-headquartered company”. $500 million would result in a 1 percent stake in Sony, the company’s biggest investor being Moxley & Co. at 17.6 percent and the second Master Trust Bank of Japan on 4.8 percent. Despite initial launch losses from the PlayStation 3, Sony’s overall profits reached a three quarter high last month, thanks to sales of its Cyber-shot camera range and high end televisions. “Sony has a great management team,'' said Dubai International's COO Anand Krishnan in an interview with the Bloomberg news agency. ”We like their leadership position in electronics and their strong presence in emerging markets.” Dubai International will host a group of Asian companies in Dubai next month to discuss investments in their companies, with Sony advisory board chairman Nobuyuki Idei due to speak at the event.