Tokyo, August 6, 2013 – Sony Corporation (“Sony” or “the Company”) today sent a letter to Third Point LLC following a unanimous vote of Sony’s Board of Directors. The letter outlines that the Board and management team strongly believe that continuing to own 100% of the Company’s entertainment businesses is fundamental to Sony’s success, and that a rights or public offering is not consistent with the Company’s strategy for achieving sustained growth in profitability and shareholder value. The letter sets out a number of reasons, including:

• Demand for content is increasing its value in a dynamic industry environment characterized by emerging distribution platforms and the proliferation of both powerful mobile devices and access to broadband. Sony believes its entertainment businesses will increasingly benefit from these trends, and the Company’s shareholders will benefit from owning all, rather than a part, of these valuable assets; and
• Full control of Sony’s entertainment businesses drives internal collaboration, facilitates synergies, and allows the Company to be more nimble. Sony believes that the opportunities for collaboration among Sony’s businesses are numerous and increasing, and a rights or public offering would create the need for otherwise unnecessary and burdensome arm’s length intercompany relationships as a result of minority shareholder rights, thereby limiting Sony’s control and strategic flexibility.

In addition, Sony’s Board and management believe it has adequate capital resources to fund its business plans. Should Sony require capital, or in the event of unanticipated events, the Company’s priority would be to raise capital without selling a portion of an asset fundamental to the growth strategy, and without unnecessarily burdening Sony’s ability to execute its business strategy for both entertainment and electronics.

The Company expects to begin providing additional disclosures regarding its entertainment businesses for the second quarter of the current fiscal year to help market participants better analyze performance of these businesses.

"We are encouraged by our progress as we continue to execute on our One Sony strategy," said Kazuo Hirai, President and CEO of Sony. "We have made many changes during my tenure as CEO, and we are confident that we are on the right path. Sony’s entertainment businesses are critical to our corporate strategy and will be important drivers of growth, and I am firmly committed to assuring their growth, to improving their profitability, and to aggressively leveraging their collaboration with our electronics and service businesses. We are determined to pursue sustained growth in profitability and shareholder value, so that we can meet and exceed the expectations of all of our stakeholders."

The full text of the letter is attached to this press release.

Cautionary Statement

Statements made in this release with respect to Sony’s current plans, estimates, strategies and beliefs and other statements that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements about the future performance of Sony. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those statements using words such as “believe,” “expect,” “plans,” “strategy,” “prospects,” “forecast,” “estimate,” “project,” “anticipate,” “aim,” “intend,” “seek,” “may,” “might,” “could” or “should,” and words of similar meaning in connection with a discussion of future operations, financial performance, events or conditions. From time to time, oral or written forward-looking statements may also be included in other materials released to the public. These statements are based on management’s assumptions, judgments and beliefs in light of the information currently available to it. Sony cautions investors that a number of important risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements, and therefore investors should not place undue reliance on them. Investors also should not rely on any obligation of Sony to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Sony disclaims any such obligation. Risks and uncertainties that might affect Sony include, but are not limited to:

• (i) the global economic environment in which Sony operates and the economic conditions in Sony’s markets, particularly levels of consumer spending;
• (ii) foreign exchange rates, particularly between the yen and the U.S. dollar, the euro and other currencies in which Sony makes significant sales and incurs production costs, or in which Sony’s assets and liabilities are denominated;
• (iii) Sony’s ability to continue to design and develop and win acceptance of, as well as achieve sufficient cost reductions for, its products and services, including televisions, game platforms and smartphones, which are offered in highly competitive markets characterized by severe price competition and continual new product and service introductions, rapid development in technology and subjective and changing consumer preferences;
• (iv) Sony’s ability and timing to recoup large-scale investments required for technology development and production capacity;
• (v) Sony’s ability to implement successful business restructuring and transformation efforts under changing market conditions;
• (vi) Sony’s ability to implement successful hardware, software, and content integration strategies for all segments excluding the Financial Services segment, and to develop and implement successful sales and distribution strategies in light of the Internet and other technological developments;
• (vii) Sony’s continued ability to devote sufficient resources to research and development and, with respect to capital expenditures, to prioritize investments correctly (particularly in the electronics businesses);
• (viii) Sony’s ability to maintain product quality;
• (ix) the effectiveness of Sony’s strategies and their execution, including but not limited to the success of Sony’s acquisitions, joint ventures and other strategic investments;
• (x) Sony’s ability to forecast demands, manage timely procurement and control inventories;
• (xi) the outcome of pending and/or future legal and/or regulatory proceedings;
• (xii) shifts in customer demand for financial services such as life insurance and Sony’s ability to conduct successful asset liability management in the Financial Services segment;
• (xiii) the impact of unfavorable conditions or developments (including market fluctuations or volatility) in the Japanese equity markets on the revenue and operating income of the Financial Services segment; and
• (xiv) risks related to catastrophic disasters or similar events. Risks and uncertainties also include the impact of any future events with material adverse impact.