Sony said to have invested in Italian rival to Apple's iTunes

Milan

SONY Pictures Entertainment Inc has acquired a minority stake in Chili SpA, an Italian video-on-demand platform whose investors include some of the biggest Hollywood film studios, according to people familiar with the matter.

Sony bought about 5 per cent in Milan-based Chili for about three million euros (S$4.5 million), taking a stake in a service that seeks to compete with Apple Inc's iTunes, said the people, who asked not to named because the deal is private. Chili has an enterprise value of about 65 million euros and is expected to generate sales of about 10 million euros this year, according to one of the people.