Sony Corp.’s continued struggles and falling stock price could spark another battle with activist investor Dan Loeb, The Post has learned.
Loeb, the founder of the Third Point hedge fund, may jump back into a battle with the Sony board if shares of the electronics company — down 5.2 percent this year, to $16.39 — continue to tumble, sources familiar with Loeb’s thinking said.
Last summer, Loeb amassed a small stake in the $17 billion company and called for Sony to consider spinning off the firm’s entertainment assets as a way to unleash their true value.
Loeb, in a letter to the Sony board, pointed out several inefficiencies, hence embarrassing executives.
Sony politely declined the spin-off idea but promised to undertake major restructurings and rounds of cost cuts.
Nearly one year later, Sony’s financial situation doesn’t look much different.
“Loeb will be rattling now that the stock has dropped,” said the person familiar with the situation. “This [also] opens the door for other activist investors.”
Sony’s poor financial situation leaves its US chiefs in a tough spot, wondering how to expand their businesses when all the capital has to head back to Tokyo, one person explained.
“It’s going in the wrong direction,” said one source with knowledge of the situation.
“As long as the stock keeps dropping, Loeb’s plan for a spin-off of the entertainment assets is logical,” a second source in the loop said.
This person likened the entertainment assets of Sony to the value of Yahoo!’s Alibaba stake — meaning that the core business adds little to the overall value of the company.
Sony’s move to spin off its television-set business into a new entity is being viewed as a precursor to a possible sale — one move that would fit into Loeb’s vision of a slimmed-down Sony.
Sony’s entertainment assets are valued at roughly $14 billion, sources estimated.
A stock price decline to the $13-a-share neighborhood could bring activists off the sidelines, the person said.
If the entertainment assets were sold, Sony could give its stock price a huge boost and begin a period of reinvestment in its core products.
Sony has continued to say it isn’t interested in selling its entertainment assets and rejected Loeb’s plan for a spin-off soon after its proposal last year.
A Sony spokesman couldn’t be reached for comment.
Third Point declined comment.