Sony and Toshiba Sign Definitive Agreement on Image Sensor Business Transfer

Based on MOU on October 28, 2015, Sony and Toshiba have signed definitive agreements to transfer to Sony and to Sony Semiconductor Corporation ("SCK"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony, Toshiba fab facilities, equipment and related assets in its Oita Operations facility, as well as other related equipment and assets owned by Toshiba.

Toshiba will transfer facilities, equipment and related assets of Toshiba's 300mm wafer production line, mainly located at its Oita Operations facility. The purchase price of the Transfer is 19 billion yen. Sony and Toshiba aim to complete the Transfer within the fiscal year ending March 31, 2016. Following the Transfer, Sony and SCK plan to operate the semiconductor fabrication facilities as fabrication facilities of SCK, primarily for manufacturing CMOS image sensors.

Sony is to offer the employees of Toshiba and its affiliates employed at the fabrication facilities, as well as certain employees involved in areas such as CMOS sensor engineering and design (approximately 1,100 employees in total), employment within the Sony Group.

At the time of construction of Oita fab in 2004, Toshiba said that it is to "be the first semiconductor facility in the world to deploy 65-nanometer process and design technologies. ...A 200 billion yen investment program from FY2003 to FY2007, will bring production capacity to 12,500 wafers a month. This could be further expanded if necessary, up to a capacity of 17,500 wafers a month, with further investment."