Sony Corp. is weighing a restructuring of its US operations, The Post has learned.
The Tokyo-based electronics and entertainment giant is having conversations about placing its struggling Sony Pictures Entertainment under its larger and more profitable gaming division, sources said.
The move, if made, will result in Andrew House, the head of Sony Interactive Entertainment, its gaming unit, gaining oversight over but likely not daily control of the studio, which sits at No. 5 in box office receipts this year, sources said.
House’s gaming division has been a bright spot for Sony of late. Its $6.4 billion in revenue in the six months ended Sept. 30 produced $624 million in operating profit.
The upside for House only became more pronounced on the success of post-Thanksgiving Day sales. Last week, Sony Interactive Entertainment revealed PlayStation 4 sold 50 million units after a Black Friday buying frenzy.
The current holiday also will be crucial to the success of Sony’s recently introduced VR headset.
“This is nothing but baseless rumor and speculation,” a Sony Corp. spokesperson said Sunday night. “There are no plans for Andrew House to oversee Sony Pictures.”
Sony Pictures Entertainment, headed by Michael Lynton — who is also chief executive of Sony Corp. of America — had revenue of $3.7 billion in the period and posted an operating loss of $74 million.
“There is talk they are going to merge SPE (Sony Pictures Entertainment) with PlayStation,” said a source familiar with the company.
The reorganization rumors are leading to speculation that Lynton is looking to exit.
In November, Sony revised downward its full-year forecast for the Pictures unit, which this year produced “Ghostbusters” and “The Magnificent Seven,” due in part to overall poor performance at the box office.
House is from Wales (as is Howard Stringer, the former chief of Sony’s US assets) and an executive vice president at Sony Corp.
House succeeded current Sony Corp. Chief Executive Kaz Hirai in 2011 as boss of the gaming unit.
As for Lynton, the 56-year-old is weighing a move into academia or to an executive position overseas, sources familiar with his thinking said.
Lynton, who was an early backer of Snapchat and sits on its board, stands to make millions in the tech company’s upcoming initial public offering.
Some observers close to Lynton aren’t ruling out a move into an active role at the hot tech property. Lynton and his wife, Jamie, invested $200,000 in early 2012. They also were big fundraisers for President Obama.
The Pictures unit holds a motion picture studio, a global cable TV division and a TV production company, known for a wide variety of hits, from “Mad Men” to “Jeopardy.”
It also owns Sony Music Group and music publisher Sony/ATV. Those divisions may unite and not be part of House’s empire, a source said.
Bankers have long viewed Sony’s entertainment units as a takeover target — although Hirai has long said it is not for sale.
Meanwhile, Sony’s ADRs are up nearly 20 percent this year, closing Friday at $29.40.
Sony hopes to make up its mind on the possible restructuring of its US operations by March 31, the end of its fiscal year, sources said, although nothing was set in stone.