If you rewind to 2012, you’d likely remember the big news between Sony and Olympus. With the once-giant also struggling and suffering losses left and right, Sony saw it as an opportunity to invest and in turn bought $645 million worth of shares, or a little over 10% of the company. While Olympus was and is still widely known for their cameras, Sony was eyeing Olympus’ lucrative medical imaging business which they’d been independently investing in as well. Now, nearly three years later and  with a lot less money in the bank, Sony is cashing out of the venture.

Details after the jump.

Sony has announced that they’ll be halving their stake in Olympus. Their previous 10% ownership made them the largest shareholder in the company. Koji Kurata, a spokesman for Sony:

 We plan to use the funds to strengthen our financial base and for growth investments. We still intend to continue collaborating and maintain our partnership. 

Under current CEO Kaz Hirai, Sony has been on a feverish pitch to sell off or close off parts of the business that are no longer working. With cash running dry for the Japanese giant, which hasn’t been profitable in nearly a decade, any short term cash that can be gained is likely a big internal victory. Sony hopes to take the cash gained for “growth investments.” Sony will still hold onto their 5% stake in Olympus though, depending on how things go, they could sell that too.

Discuss:

Is Sony doing the right thing by untangling themselves from assets that aren’t a core part of the company?

[Via Bloomberg]