Dubai International Capital takes Sony stake

TOKYO, Nov 26 (Reuters) Dubai International Capital, a private equity company owned by the ruler of Dubai, said it has made a ''substantial investment'' in Sony Corp, boosting the shares of the Japanese electronics and entertainment firm.

The size of the stake the Dubai company now holds in Sony or the size of the investment it made are not immediately available.

This is Dubai International Capital's first investment in a Japanese company.

Following the announcement, shares in Sony closed up 4.6 percent at 5,500 yen, outperforming the Tokyo stock market's electrical machinery index which rose 1.95 percent.

''Whilst the restructuring process at Sony is well advanced, the recent successful listing of Sony Financial Holdings is evidence of management's ongoing strategy of focusing on capital efficiency and cash generation,'' Dubai International Capital Chief Executive Sameer Al Ansari said in a statement.

Sony, which is in the final year of its three-year turnaround plan led by Chief Executive Howard Stringer, took Sony Financial public in October in its latest step to focus on its core operations such as the consumer electronics business.

Dubai International's Ansari told Reuters in an interview in July it may buy into one or two publicly listed companies in Japan for its Gulf Arab Global Strategic Equities Fund.

Recent purchases of Dubai International Capital include German-based speciality alumina products company, Almatis, and a 9.9 percent stake in U.S. hedge fund Och-Ziff Capital Management.

REUTERS SLD BST1237