Hacked e-mail shows Sony received US$7b proposal

Tokyo

SONY Corp's entertainment unit was approached over a potential US$7 billion financing offer from a group it believed was linked to princes from the Middle East, according to documents released by hackers who broke into the company's computers.

Under the proposal, the unidentified investors would commit US$6 billion of debt and equity financing to fund Sony's film production, according to a Nov 1 email from Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group's chief financial officer, Stefan Litt. The plan also involved buying US$1 billion in Sony stock.