Sony Said to Hire Morgan Stanley, Citigroup for Loeb Plan

Sony Corp. is working with Morgan Stanley and Citigroup Inc. as it considers adopting billionaire Daniel Loeb’s proposal for an initial public offering of its entertainment unit, people familiar with the matter said.

Third Point LLC’s Loeb, which acquired more than 6 percent of Sony, is pushing Chief Executive Officer Kazuo Hirai to sell as much as 20 percent of the entertainment assets in an initial public offering. Sony shares rose as much as 7 percent yesterday in New York and as much as 5.8 percent today in Tokyo, where they closed 2.1 percent higher at 2,049 yen.