Sony 2015 Annual Report Download - page 219

SONY CORPORATION AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
investigation, but the European Commission and one other agency continue to investigate. A number of direct
and indirect purchaser lawsuits, including class actions, have been filed in certain jurisdictions, including the
United States, in which the plaintiffs allege that Sony Corporation and certain of its subsidiaries violated antitrust
laws and seek recovery of damages and other remedies. Although certain of these lawsuits have reached a
settlement, including the class actions brought by the direct purchasers and the indirect purchasers in the United
States, the proposed settlements of which are pending court approvals, other lawsuits continue. Based on the
stage of these proceedings, it is not possible to estimate the amount of losses or range of possible losses, if any,
that might result from adverse judgments, settlements or other resolution of all of these matters.
A Sony subsidiary outside Japan is subject to a non-Japanese customs investigation in connection with the
import and export of certain HE&S products. Sony is cooperating with the relevant government
authorities. Based on the stage of this investigation and information currently available, it is not possible to
estimate the amount of losses or range of possible losses, if any, that might ultimately result from adverse
judgments, settlements or other resolution of this investigation.
In addition, Sony Corporation and certain of its subsidiaries are defendants or otherwise involved in other
pending legal and regulatory proceedings. However, based upon the information currently available, Sony
believes that the outcome from such legal and regulatory proceedings would not have a material impact on
Sony’s results of operations and financial position.
(4) Guarantees
Sony has issued guarantees that contingently require payments to guaranteed parties if certain specified
events or conditions occur. The maximum potential amount of future payments under these guarantees as of
March 31, 2016 amounted to 38,565 million yen. The major components of these guarantees are as follows:
As discussed in Note 23, Sony has agreed to repay the outstanding principal plus accrued interest up to a
maximum of 260.5 million U.S. dollars to the creditor of the third-party investor of Sony’s U.S.-based music
publishing subsidiary should the third-party investor default on its obligation. The obligation of the third-party
investor is collateralized by its 50% interest in Sony’s music publishing subsidiary. Should Sony have to make a
payment under the terms of the guarantee, Sony would assume the creditor’s rights to the underlying collateral.
As of March 31, 2016, the fair value of the collateral exceeded 260.5 million U.S. dollars. Sony entered into the
Music Publishing Purchase Agreements with the third-party investor to obtain full ownership of the U.S.-based
music publishing subsidiary. Under the terms of the Music Publishing Purchase Agreements, Sony will pay the
third-party investor a lump sum payment of 733 million U.S. dollars upon closing plus 17 million U.S. dollars of
distributions to which the subsidiary previously committed. The closing of the transaction is subject to certain
closing conditions, including regulatory approval. Upon the successful close of the transaction, the guarantee
provided to the creditor of the third-party investor will be terminated.
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