Toshiba may buy Sony chip plant

Sony Corp. is in talks with Toshiba Corp. to sell it a chip-production facility for game consoles as early as next spring for nearly ¥100 billion, informed sources said Saturday.

Sony wants to concentrate its investment on producing chips for video and digital cameras by effectively withdrawing from the costly production of semiconductors for game consoles, the sources said.

Purchasing the facility would help Toshiba, Japan's largest chip maker, expand its market share, they said.

The facility under consideration for sale to Toshiba is part of those at the Nagasaki Technology Center of subsidiary Sony Semiconductor Kyushu Corp., the sources said.

The facility at the Isahaya, Nagasaki Prefecture-based center produces the Cell, a powerful microchip Sony codeveloped with Toshiba and International Business Machines Corp. for its PlayStation 3 game console, as well as other semiconductors.

Sony and Toshiba are considering setting up a joint venture in which the new firm would be expected to lease the facility and produce chips for supply to Sony, the sources said.