Sony = $60+ Billion in Debt

[MouthofDevlin]

Switch at top prompts takeover talk

By Francesco Guerrera in Hong Kong and David Ibison in Tokyo

Published: March 8 2005 02:00 | Last updated: March 8 2005 02:00

Sony's surprise decision to replace Nobuyuki Idei with Howard Stringer as chief executive has prompted investment bankers and rivals to consider a takeover of the world's second-largest consumer electronics group.

"Incredible though this may seem, these events put Sony in play. I am sure there will be plenty of people considering this over the next few days," said a senior Hong Kong-based investment banker yesterday.

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/20990580-8f79-11d...000e2511c8.html

Standard & Poor's today said it is reviewing Sony's A+ long- term debt rating, its fifth-highest, for a possible downgrade because the acquisition may damage Sony's balance sheet. MGM's losses over three years, which total about $740 million, make it ``uncertain what contribution MGM can make to Sony's profits,'' S&P said. Sony's total debt stood at 6.71 trillion yen ($61 billion) on June 30.

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=1...zAs0&refer=asia

Edited March 8, 2005 by Annatar

[BGM]

holy crap, tahts a whole lot of moolah

i remember hearing it was ~20bil (USD) about 2 years back!

[MouthofDevlin]

Rot and die Sony. Its mainly all the sheep who think Sony is quality because they're the most expensive out there. I could name a half dozen other brands of TV and other appliances that are cheaper, more durable, and have more features then the sorry excuses Sony puts on the shelf.

[nellydoom]

Sweet mother of jesus thats a lot for such a successful company to owe

[S7R1K3R]

Rot and die Sony. Its mainly all the sheep who think Sony is quality because they're the most expensive out there. I could name a half dozen other brands of TV and other appliances that are cheaper, more durable, and have more features then the sorry excuses Sony puts on the shelf.

585586645[/snapback]

very true i kno alot of people who wont buy anythin other than sony. there was a friend of mine bought a tv that was sony an then bought a matching dvd player and stereo and speakers and vcr and u get the point. they figured that they should jus stick with sony since itll work better. and at the end of all that and money they couldnt play copied dvds in the dvd player lol.

[Inplode]

GOOD GOD !!!!

But how can a company get that far in Debt i smell a take over comeing lol

ROFL what of MS bought out sony ..........

[ZZOOzzoo]

Glad that Sony is finally making a change. (Y)

They seriously need to drop those Sony-exclusive formats such as MS or ATRAC, and need to collaborate with other companies a bit more.

Also, their products lines are so over-integrated to each other, that it feels kinda scary to buy one of their products.

For me, once I bought Cybershot about 8 years ago, I had to spend tremendous amount of money for memory stick, and I was naturally led to buying their Handycam and new Cybershot just to save money.

Now I'm thinking of getting Pocket Vaio and PSP just because I have Sony Cybershot and many memory stick duo, and I feel like I lost freedom as a consumer. (at least in financial way)

[MouthofDevlin]

Sweet mother of jesus thats a lot for such a successful company to owe

585586664[/snapback]

Successful, since when?

[Alex Suraci]

Heh, 6.71 trillian yen sounds like more than $61 billion. But still, good guacamole that's a lot of money. :|

Successful, since when?

585586699[/snapback]

I hope you're joking.

[JustGeorge]

I think the Playstation is the only thing they truely have thats successful.

[MouthofDevlin]

Heh, 6.71 trillian yen sounds like more than $61 billion. But still, good guacamole that's a lot of money. :|

I hope you're joking.

585586703[/snapback]

There is a difference between able to sell products and able to profit from them. Too bad Sony neither has quality in it's products to sustain premium prices neither does it profit from products because of custom made components and formats in which no one supports other than sony. Not to mention, their tech support is like speaking with the devil.

I hope the South Koreans purchase Sony, would be a happy blow to the japanese.

[S.MULLA]

they were successful- but for the last several years they have droppped... i havent even bought anything sony for the last 6-8years- cuz they are overpriced goods.. which panasonic, hitachi etc can deliver the same for less..

and the ATRAC format was a total waist of time..!!

[JustGeorge]

There is a difference between able to sell products and able to profit from them. Too bad Sony neither has quality in it's products to sustain premium prices neither does it profit from products because of custom made components and formats in which no one supports other than sony. Not to mention, their tech support is like speaking with the devil.

I hope the South Koreans purchase Sony, would be a happy blow to the japanese.

585586729[/snapback]

Ya got that right! LOL :rofl:

[ZZOOzzoo]

edit/ decided it sounded too stupid.

As I said above, I'd just love to see Sony change for customers.

[neufuse Veteran]

sony should spin off the video game division as "sony" and sell the rest as other companies *LOL* then maybe sony would do better.. sony is the prefect example of a company streatched say too far

[Alex Suraci]

There is a difference between able to sell products and able to profit from them. Too bad Sony neither has quality in it's products to sustain premium prices neither does it profit from products because of custom made components and formats in which no one supports other than sony. Not to mention, their tech support is like speaking with the devil.

I hope the South Koreans purchase Sony, would be a happy blow to the japanese.

585586729[/snapback]

You never said you didn't like them, you said they're unsuccessful, which they are. It doesn't matter if you think they suck - they're still successful.

[vcv]

I think the Playstation is the only thing they truely have thats successful.

585586717[/snapback]

Ever heard of the walkman? Wega TVs? Trinitron monitors (Ok, not that 'successful', not damn sweet monitors).

[JustGeorge]

Ever heard of the walkman? Wega TVs? Trinitron monitors (Ok, not that 'successful', not damn sweet monitors).

585586881[/snapback]

Walkman = Not popular anymore

Wega TVs = Overpriced and not easily obtained by Avg Joe

Trinitron Monitors = You called that one yourself.

I meant that the PS was the only thing that was mainstream successful at this time.

[MouthofDevlin]

Walkman = Not popular anymore

Wega TVs =  Overpriced and not easily obtained by Avg Joe

Trinitron Monitors = You called that one yourself.

I meant that the PS was the only thing that was mainstream successful at this time.

585587001[/snapback]

Icarus, what he said.

And no, I did imply that Sony is unsuccessful, in all of their movies, only spiderman 2 was successful. PSP isnt making a dime for Sony. Their TV, walkmans, camcorders are overpriced and love to brake.

And I have a 60 billion dollars debt to back this up.

[Ridgeburner]

*looks at his Sony Trinitron monitor, looks behind him at his 27" Wega and shrugs* never had a problem with either one, the price was just perfect for both and in my personal experience with other products, I still have yet to see anything better than a Sony (Y) :yes:

[iconboy]

Annatar, did Sony kill your father and rape your mother? honestly i dont understand people's passionate hatred for large electronic conglomorates. Its like somewhere in your life you owned a sony product that broke, probably because you were mishandling it and now they are blacklisted 4 life for you, every situation, comment, conversion online or in real life you will try to bad mouth sony. Its rediculous- I was reading your apple vs. microsoft -free vs. paid for thread and although i own only PCs and no macs I was shocked when you pretty much called anyone that owned a mac a "maczi" ie nazi and said that they were spreading facist crap, woah woah woah, dude, .... deeeep breath - breath in and about- count to 3 and come back,.

My 2 cents, every company in this day and age is in debt in some way or another, its the price of being successful- getting TTOOO big really ;) BUT who can have any ill will for the company that created the friggin' walkman!? And i hope noone takes over sony so i can one day see a playstation 3 ;)

Macs may not be the best for advanced PC users and maybe they only accelorate at graphics, but they have a place in the industry too ;) I JUST WISH MACS WERE CHEAPER SO THAT I COULD BUY ONE AND USE IT AT MY GRAPHIC DESIGN JOB! AHHHHHH off topic- sorry, but if apple were to lower the prices , the macs would really be flying off the shelves- and i dont mean a half assed mini version ;)

[nomis_nehc]

damn, i wish i have a credit card that'll allow me to rake up 60 something billion dollars. lol, not like i will ever or can pay it back anyhow.

[cryptic]

My 2 cents, every company in this day and age is in debt in some way or another, its the price of being successful- getting TTOOO big really ;) BUT who can have any ill will for the company that created the friggin' walkman!? And i hope noone takes over sony so i can one day see a playstation 3 ;)

585587169[/snapback]

Im neither a Sony fanboy nor a hater, but I must say I would not be disappointed to see them go. They are indeed overpriced for what they sell. There are many other better TV manufactuers, better stereo (home and auto) makers, better computer makers that sell for less and do not use proprietary add ons. If Sony is 60 BILLION in debt that does not mean a complete sell off but more likely they will sell MGM and other ventures first.

So now, let the Sony fanboys speak out :whistle:

[iconboy]

i agree to a point, I honestly could care less about a giant faceless conglomorate's demise, BUT i really want a PS3 ;) assure me of a PS3 and Ill be happy either way!

[+dave164 Subscriber¹]

They will be less in debt if they charge less as then people will buy the products!