Toshiba Corporation, which has a business range from laptops to nuclear power, is all set to sell its image sensor business to Sony Corp for 20 billion yen - roughly $164.68 million - as part of a restructuring plan laid out earlier this year, sources with knowledge of the deal said on Saturday.
Toshiba is undergoing a restructuring after revelations this year that it overstated earnings by $1.3 billion going back to fiscal 2008/09, Reuters reported.
Image sensors, which are used in digital cameras and smart phones, are part of Toshiba's system LSI semiconductor business.
Toshiba plans to sell its image sensor manufacturing plant in Oita, southern Japan, and pull out of the sensor business altogether, said the sources, who declined to be identified.
Sources said the deal is likely to be finalised soon.
The deal for the image sensor business would be the beginning of the restructuring, Nikkei reported earlier on Saturday.
Toshiba is considering several options for its system LSI semiconductor business and its discrete semi-conductor business and that debate is currently ongoing, a Toshiba official said when contacted.
Masashi Muromachi, who became Toshiba's CEO following the accounting scandal, has promised to restructure lower-margin businesses.
Being a dominant player in the image sensor market, Sony's products are used in phones made by China's Xiaomi and India's Micromax Informatix Ltd.
An official from Sony refused to comment on the matter.
