Sony: TV unit to snap up Britain’s CSC

Sony’s movie and television unit will snap up Britain’s CSC media network, adding to a string of acquisitions as the Japanese company shifts focus from movies to higher-margin television programming. Sony Pictures Television said yesterday it would buy CSC for £107 million (R1.9 billion), acquiring 16 channels available on cable and satellite to bring its total channels in Britain to 25. Sony chief executive Kazuo Hirai has pledged to strengthen its entertainment content business, a reliable profit driver along with its financial services unit, as he struggles to pull its electronics business into the black. Sony Pictures Television will buy 100 percent of CSC after doing a deal with private equity firm Veronis Suhler Stevenson, the majority shareholder. – Reuters