Sony Corporation of America

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Sony Corporation of America
Company type Subsidiary
Industry
FoundedFebruary 15, 1960;64 years ago (1960-02-15)
Founder Akio Morita
Headquarters 25 Madison Avenue,
New York City
,
U.S.
Key people
Number of employees
33,234 [1]
Parent Sony Group Corporation
Subsidiaries See § Subsidiaries
Website sony.com/SCA/

The Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, [2] also known as SCA) is the American subsidiary of Japanese multinational conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. [3] Headquartered in New York City, the company manages Sony's business in the United States. [4]

Contents

Sony's principal U.S. businesses include Sony Corporation, Sony Interactive Entertainment and Sony Entertainment (Sony Music Group and Sony Pictures Entertainment).

It was reported in December 2016 by multiple news outlets that Sony was considering restructuring its U.S. operations by merging its television and film business, Sony Pictures Entertainment, with its gaming business, Sony Interactive Entertainment. According to the reports, such a restructuring would have placed Sony Pictures under Sony Interactive's then CEO, Andrew House, though he would not have assumed day-to-day operations of the film studio. [5] [6] [7] According to one report, Sony was set to make a final decision on the possibility of the merger of the television, film and gaming businesses by the end of its fiscal year in March of the following year (2017). [5] By January 2020, nothing had materialized.

Investments in the United States

Sony Group Corporation has been investing in the United States since the 1960s. Sony has made significant investments in various industries and has established a strong presence in the American market.

One of Sony's most notable investments in the US is in the entertainment industry. Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation, is a major player in the American film and television industry. The company produces, finances, and distributes a wide variety of content, including feature films, television shows, and streaming content. Sony Pictures has produced many successful and critically acclaimed movies, such as the Spider-Man and Jumanji franchises, as well as television shows like Breaking Bad and The Blacklist . [8]

In addition to the entertainment industry, Sony has also invested heavily in the gaming industry in the United States. Sony Interactive Entertainment, another subsidiary of Sony Corporation, is the company behind the PlayStation gaming console. The PlayStation has been a major player in the gaming market for decades and has consistently been one of the top-selling gaming consoles in the United States. [9]

Sony has also made investments in the technology and electronics industries in the United States. The company has manufacturing facilities and research and development centers in various states across the country, where they produce a wide range of products, including televisions, cameras, and audio equipment. [10]

Sony Corporation has made significant investments in the United States across multiple industries, including entertainment, gaming, technology, and electronics. The company's subsidiaries, such as Sony Pictures Entertainment and Sony Interactive Entertainment, have established a strong presence in the American market and have contributed to the growth of these industries. Sony's investments in the US have been successful and have helped to solidify the company's position as a major player in the global market. Sony is the tenth largest foreign direct investor in the United States, with investments worth more than $90 billion. [11] In 2021, more than half of Sony Corporation's revenue came from companies based in the United States. [12]

Sony Interactive Entertainment headquarters in San Mateo, California Sony Interactive Entertainment San Mateo.jpg
Sony Interactive Entertainment headquarters in San Mateo, California

Sony Interactive Entertainment

In 2016, Sony moved PlayStation, Sony's biggest brand by revenue, to the United States. [13] The largest acquisition by Sony Corporation was American video game company Bungie for $3.7 billion in 2022. [14] The PlayStation 4 was the most profitable console ever, selling over 117 million units, making it the fourth best-selling console of all time. [15] God of War became one of the 50 best-selling games of all time, selling 23 million units by November 2022. [16] Sony Interactive Entertainment's revenue was $25 billion in 2021. The PS5 become Sony's fastest-selling and most profitable console ever. [17]

Sony Pictures

Sony Pictures Entertainment headquarters in Culver City, California Sony Pictures Studios Motor Gate.jpg
Sony Pictures Entertainment headquarters in Culver City, California

On November 9, 1989, Sony entered the film industry by acquiring Columbia Pictures for $3.4 billion. [18] Columbia Pictures is considered one of the "Big Five" major American film studios. In 2021, Sony Pictures Entertainment became the highest earning film production company in the United States.

In 1999, Sony acquired the intellectual property (IP) movie rights to Spider-Man from Marvel Entertainment for $7 million. [19] The Spider-Man film franchise has grossed more than $9.8 billion, making it the fifth highest-grossing film franchise in history. [20] In 2021, Spider-Man: No Way Home became the seventh highest-grossing film of all time. [21]

On April 18, 2024, reports surfaced indicating Sony Pictures' interest in acquiring American media company Paramount Global through a joint buyout with Apollo Global Management. In May 2024, Sony Pictures and Apollo made an offer to acquire Paramount Global for $26 billion in cash. [22] The New York Times reported that the board of directors of Paramount Global formally initiated negotiations for the potential sale of the company with Sony and Apollo. [23] If the merger occurs, Sony would become as the third-largest movie company globally, following behind NBCUniversal and The Walt Disney Company, with Sony holding a 20.81% share in the US and Canada markets alone and Paramount Pictures becoming a sibling studio to Columbia Pictures and TriStar Pictures. [24] However, Skydance Media eventually became the emerging winner for the merger of Paramount.

Sony Music

On January 5, 1988, Sony entered the music industry by acquiring Sony Music (formerly CBS Records) for $2 Billion. With the $8.9 billion revenue in 2021, Sony Music Entertainment is the second largest of the "Big Three" record companies, behind Universal Music Group and followed by Warner Music Group.

List of American companies acquired by Sony

AcquiredCompanyBusinessValueReferences
July 15, 2022 Bungie Video Games $3.7 billion [14]
November 8, 1989 Columbia Pictures Movies/Television $3.4 billion [25]
January 5, 1988 Sony Music Music $2 billion [26]
August 9, 2021 Crunchyroll Video streaming service $1.17 billion [27]
November 18, 2019 Game Show Network Basic cable channel $500 million [28]
July 2, 2012 Gaikai Cloud gaming $380 million
March 3, 2022 Industrial Media Entertainment$350 million [29]
August 19, 2019 Insomniac Games Video Games $229 million [30]
November 9, 1989 Guber-Peters Entertainment Movies/Television$200 million
December 10, 2019 Sony Pictures Television Kids Movies/Television$195 million [31]
July 9, 2002 Acuff-Rose Music Music publishing $157 million
July 31, 2017 Funimation Entertainment$143 million [32]
January 22, 2001 Naughty Dog Video Games [33]
December 1, 2000 Bend Studio Video Games
August 2, 2011 Sucker Punch Productions Video Games [34]
March 18, 2021 EVO Championship Esports [35]
September 30, 2021 Bluepoint Games Video Games [36]
July 18, 2022 Repeat.gg Esports [37]
March 5, 2012 The Orchard Music [38]
August 4, 2022 Right Stuf Video publishing [39]
December 23, 2012 Ultra Records Music [40]
October 25, 2022 Pixomondo Visual effects [41]
April 20, 2023 Firewalk Studios Video Games [42]
August 24, 2023 Audeze Music
June 12, 2024 Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Entertainment [43]

List of american companies founded by Sony

FoundedCompanyBusiness
1999 Santa Monica Studio Video Games
May 9, 2002 Sony Pictures Animation Animated film
March, 2005 Aniplex of America Anime and music production
2019 PlayStation Productions Entertainment

List of stakes owned by Sony in american companies

In 2022, Sony announced that it will invest more than 1 billion in Epic Games. In total, Sony's total investment in Epic Games is worth 1.45 billion and they own 4.9% of Epic Games. [44]

CompanyBusinessValueStakes %References
Epic Games Video games $1.45 billion5.4% [45]
Discord Communication $100 million1.4% [46]
Devolver Digital Video games $50 million5.03% [47]

Subsidiaries

Others subsidiaries

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References

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