Sony Ownership Blurred by Third Point Swaps to Goldman Bonds
This article is for subscribers only.
Billionaire Daniel Loeb proposed a breakup of Sony Corp. after saying his hedge fund was its largest owner. Data from Sony, a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. vehicle and Japan’s Finance Ministry don’t support that claim.
As Sony board members deliberate on Third Point LLC’s call for an initial public offering of part of its entertainment assets, shareholdings in the Japanese company are clouded by Third Point’s use of cash-settled swaps and convertible bonds held by Signum Coral Ltd., a special-purpose company set up by Goldman Sachs to repackage a 2012 convertible bond sale.