Sony has said that its goal with the crowdfunding projects, part of the company’s Seed Acceleration Program to foster new ideas, was not to raise money per se, but to get feedback from early adopters before products go to market.
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Sony is a front-runner in the image sensor business, boasting a technological edge that is at least a few years ahead of its competitors, including Samsung and OmniVision Technologies Inc.
This marks the first time Sony has issued new shares in more than 26 years.
Sony dropped 8.3 percent, the most since September 18, to 3,461.5 yen.
A small chunk of the proceeds from the sale of convertible bonds will be used to repay debts of the company, while the issue will constitute about 10% of its current market value. Shares will make up 321.5 billion yen of the transaction and convertible bonds will account for 120 billion yen.
Operating profit will reach ¥500 billion in the year ending March 2018, the company has forecast in its mid-term plan. If successful, the Huis would join other Sony products that have been produced as a result of crowd-funding campaigns including the FES smartwatch and MESH modular electronics kit.
“Through First Flight, Sony will support the launch and growth of new business ventures”, the firm said in a statement.
The scale of the offering, says Yasuaki Kogure of SBI Asset Management, “doesn’t correspond to the kind of growth we see” in that sector. It said the bond offering will help it shore up its long-term cash at a low cost. Despite its previous losses from TV operations, Sony has said it’s keen to maintain a presence in the business, not least as a means to promote brand awareness among consumers.
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Bradford Frischkorn contributed to this article. It’s one of the few sour notes among investors who have pushed the company’s shares up almost 72 percent in the past year on hopes that Sony’s turnaround efforts would ultimately work.
