Sony hires consultants to help cut its costs
SONY Entertainment, which is under pressure from hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb to improve the profitability of its film studio, has hired consultancy Bain & Company to help identify more than $100 million (£62m) in cost cuts, according to a source.
Loeb, an activist investor who owns about 7 per cent of the Japanese conglomerate through his Third Point hedge fund, wrote to Sony chief executive Kazuo Hirai in May to encourage “a more disciplined management approach to Sony Entertainment”. The studio has since replaced its film marketing chief and reduced film marketing costs.
In October, the group said its Sony Pictures unit, which includes the film studio as well as TV production and TV networks, made a second-quarter operating loss of $181m, due in part to the underperformance of its key summer film, White House Down.
The company’s box office performance has improved lately with hits like Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2. New titles include American Hustle, pictured.