Tokyo―Sony Corp. is in talks that could lead to a foreign investor taking a stake in its insurance unit, a step that would advance a push by Sony to focus on its core consumer-electronics business. The talks could augur a further reorganization of the sprawling entertainment-and-electronics company, which is under pressure to create new growth businesses as its electronics business is hit by increased competition. After Japanese media reports, the company two weeks ago said Sony Life Insurance Co. is talking with several U.S. and European life insurers about various tie-up possibilities. A Sony spokesman, Kei Sak-aguchi, declined to comment last Monday on which companies are involved in the talks. Japanese news reports say Sony is considering selling a stake in Sony Life to either Prudential Insurance Co. of America, a unit of Prudential Financial Inc. of the U.S., or GE Capital Corp., the financial-services arm of General Electric Co. of the U.S. Aegon NV of the Netherlands also has been mentioned as a possible buyer.
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机译：东京-索尼公司（Sony Corp.）正在进行会谈，可能会导致外国投资者入股其保险部门的股份，此举将推动索尼推动将精力集中在其核心消费电子业务上。谈判可能预示着这家规模庞大的娱乐电子公司的进一步重组，由于竞争日益激烈，该公司面临着建立新的增长业务的压力。在日本媒体报道后，该公司两周前表示，索尼人寿保险公司（Sony Life Insurance Co.）正在与数家美国和欧洲人寿保险公司就各种可能的并购案进行谈判。索尼发言人Kei Sak-aguchi拒绝在上周一发表评论。日本新闻报道称，索尼正考虑将索尼人寿的股份出售给美国保诚金融公司旗下的美国保诚保险公司或通用电气公司金融服务部门通用电气资本公司。还提到了美国的美国Aegon NV可能的买家。
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