Sony has been urged to create an independent entertainment arm by New York hedge fund Third Point, which has raised its stake in the struggling electronics giant.
Third Point has suggested Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai be made chairman of the entertainment arm, and made its request in a letter sent to Hirai today, in which fund founder Daniel Loeb offered to put a representative on Sony's board to assist with the proposal, suggesting "brisk change" to the firm's inner workings.
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Loeb also suggested that Sony start to operate "a semi-independent governance structure", arguing that the company has failed to break into the entertainment industry in the way it promised when purchasing Columbia pictures 24 years ago.
Third Point has said it now has 46 million ordinary shares in Sony valued at $944m (£603m) and 24 million shares valued at $492 (£314m) in cash-settled swaps.
The pressure Third Point is laying on Sony could be seen partly as a reaction to the company's performance after the reveal of its PlayStation 4 console at this year's E3 [Electronic Entertainment Expo] conference.
Sony's decision not to enforce DRM or stringent second-hand purchasing guidelines for the software on its new platform seems to have won the PlayStation 4 the majority of public support as Microsoft's Xbox One includes the need for users to check-in with a DRM server every 24 hours.
Microsoft has also spoken of plans to limit private sales and loans of games software on the Xbox One. There is also set to be an £80 RRP difference between the two machines, with the PlayStation 4 retailing for only £349, while the Xbox One's price has been set at £429.
