According to Japan's Nikkei newspaper Sony is going to sell its advanced semiconductor production facilities, located within Sony Semiconductor's Nagasaki plant, to Toshiba come Spring for 100 billion Yen (870 million USD, 625 million EUR). The deal, which is expected to be finalized over the next two months, encompasses such things as image processing LSI used in video cameras and games consoles, as well as Cell, a joint development by IBM, Sony and Toshiba, which is amongst other things currently also used in Sony's new console, PlayStation 3. Toshiba will have full ownership of the equipment, while a new joint venture of both companies, with Toshiba holding the majority stake, will run these production lines.

Consequently, Sony will withdraw from advanced semiconductor production and concentrate on audio and visual technology, etc, while Toshiba will in turn become a major supplier to Sony, thus increasing its worldwide market share in that field. Nikkei expects that the move will boost international competitiveness, because both Sony and Toshiba will concentrate on their core business.