Toshiba says to sell its movie unit to Hakuhodo

Tokyo, Apr 16: Japanese electronics conglomerate Toshiba Corp. said on Monday it will sell its movie and DVD unit to advertising agency Hakuhodo DY Holdings Inc., as movie buffs increasingly opt for digital downloads.

Hakuhodo confirmed the deal, which would mark Toshiba's exit from the movie content business, but neither company gave a sale price.

The sale of the unit, Toshiba Entertainment Inc., in May follows Toshiba's withdrawal from music venture Toshiba-EMI Ltd., as Toshiba trims its less profitable businesses to shift focus to chips, nuclear energy and consumer electronics.

Revenue at Toshiba Entertainment, which has distributed movie titles including ''The Pianist,'' ''Finding Neverland,'' and ''The Brothers Grimm,'' was roughly 8 billion yen ( million) for the year ended March 2006.

That is a tiny drop in the electronic conglomerate's total sales of 6.3 trillion yen last year.

Last December, Toshiba agreed to sell its stake in a joint music venture with EMI Group Plc to the British music company, and pulled out of the world's second-biggest music market, amid shrinking demand for CDs and competition from digital downloads.

Toshiba shares closed 1.6 percent up at 895 yen, while the benchmark Nikkei average gained 1.52 percent.

Reuters