Sony Corp. (6758) surged the most in more than eight months in U.S. trading after the Nikkei newspaper reported the company is in talks to sell its personal-computer business to Japan Industrial Partners Inc.

American depositary receipts of Tokyo-based Sony rose 5.8 percent to $16.14 at 2:52 p.m. in New York. Earlier, they advanced as much as 7.15 percent, the biggest intraday gain since May 21.

Selling the business, which produces Vaio PCs, would advance Chief Executive Officer Kazuo Hirai’s effort to restructure Sony’s electronics manufacturing, which is struggling in competition with lower-cost producers in China. In the company’s most recent quarter, Sony units that make PCs, cameras and televisions all lost money.

Sony is in discussions to sell the PC business, including the Vaio brand, to Japan Industrial Partners for 40 billion ($393.9 million) to 50 billion yen, Nikkei said. The transaction would result in a loss for Sony in the current fiscal year, according to the report.

John Dolak, a spokesman for Sony in the U.S., didn’t respond to a telephone call today seeking comment.

The company yesterday denied a media report it was discussing creating a venture for the PC unit with Lenovo Group Ltd. (992)

“Sony continues to address various options for the PC business, but the press report on a possible PC business alliance between Sony and Lenovo is inaccurate,” the company said in the Feb. 3 statement.
PC Slump

Unit sales of personal computers weathered a “significant decrease” in the fiscal second quarter, Sony said on Oct. 31. Sales of smartphones rose 68 percent, helping the division that includes PCs, phones and tablets narrow its loss to 900 million yen from 23.1 billion a year earlier. PC revenue increased 1.5 percent.

On a global basis, Sony’s PC market share stood at 1.9 percent at the end of September, down from a peak of 2.5 percent in 2010, according to tracking firm IDC.

“They have tried to have more lower-priced models, but still play mostly in the high-end space, with average prices higher than most of the top 10 PC vendors in the world,” said Jay Chou, a research analyst for IDC.

Sony owns a PC factory in Japan’s northern Nagano prefecture and uses contract manufacturers in China to make Vaio notebook computers, said Misato Suzuki, a Tokyo-based spokeswoman for the company.

Sony, which reports fiscal third-quarter results on Feb. 6, has forecast net income of 30 billion yen for the year ending in March. In Tokyo, the shares have advanced 5 percent in the past year.