Sony To Raise Almost $3.6 Billion In New Shares And Bonds, Share Price Plunges

Sony Corp plans to raise $3.6 billion via new shares and bonds to invest in new technologies such as image sensors and new growth business sectors. It would rep the first new share issue from Sony in 26 years, the conglom said on Tuesday. The unexpected move saw the company’s share price plunge by as much as 8% on investor fears the new stock will dilute per-share earnings.

Sony expects to raise $2.62 billion from a public stock offering after a year in which its market value has doubled in a year. It will raise a further $970 million from a convertible bond issue in Japan only to fund a boost in sensor output capacity at its advanced plants in the country. The stock offering is set for Aug. 17. The exact price has not yet been determined. 32 million of those shares will be placed in Japan, 55.2 million internationally, with an extra 4.8 million allocated in the event of the offering being oversubscribed.

“In addition to securing funds for active and concentrated investment in businesses that are driving growth,” Sony said in a statement. “Sony … aims to secure its ability to make future further investment.”