Sony Entertainment CEO Linton leaves to serve as Chairman of Snap's Board of Directors in charge of IPO

According to foreign reports, Sony announced on Friday that Michael Lynton, CEO of its subsidiary Sony Entertainment, will leave in February this year. After leaving, Linton will focus on the initial public offering that Snap, the developer of the instant app Snapchat, is preparing. Linton currently also serves as Chairman of Snap's board of directors.

According to foreign reports, Sony announced on Friday that Michael Lynton, CEO of its subsidiary Sony Entertainment, will leave in February this year. After leaving, Linton will focus on the initial public offering that Snap, the developer of the instant app Snapchat, is preparing. Linton currently also serves as Chairman of Snap's board of directors.

Linton has served as CEO of Sony Entertainment for more than a decade. After stepping down in February this year, he will continue to serve as co-CEO of Sony Entertainment for a six-month transition period.

Linton also heads Sony Pictures. Sony Pictures lost a large amount of data due to hackers in 2014, and many of the company's emails, sensitive employee data, and unreleased new movies were leaked on the Internet. The hacking attack suffered by Sony Pictures at the time was related to the release of the comedy movie "Assassination of Kim Jong Un." In 2013, Sony also rejected a request from hedge fund Third Point to spin off Sony Entertainment, which had criticized Sony Entertainment for hindering innovation in Sony's electronics division.

"This has been an extraordinary 13 years and I have been honored to work with some of the most talented and creative people in the entertainment industry during this time," Linton said in a statement Friday. He also said,"I met Snapchat's CEO Evan Spiegel when it was founded and witnessed the company's growth. I think this is the best time to leave Sony Entertainment, and I will devote my energy to my role as Chairman of Snap's board of directors. I am very proud of what I have accomplished with my Sony colleagues."

Linton's departure comes at a time when Sony is conducting a "wide-ranging restructuring" of Sony Entertainment. In the past few years, Sony has formed a new management team, particularly a major reorganization of its music business.

The Wall Street Journal reported at the end of last year that Snap expects to launch an initial public offering as soon as March this year, valuing the company at US$25 billion, exceeding the valuation of US$17.81 billion in its final round of financing. Snap, which has 150 million active users, faces fierce challenges from Facebook and Google (Weibo) in competing for advertiser budgets.

Sources said late last year that Snap founder and CEO Spieger would be speaking to investors during a roadshow. The bankers and executives responsible for Snap's IPO plan to turn Spiegel Packaging into visionary idealists who know how to develop products for "millennials." The strategy is to convince investors that Snap, a young company, has the ability to transform itself from a messaging platform into a content and media powerhouse worthy of an IPO valuation of $20 billion to $25 billion. That would allow Snap to achieve similar share price performance to Apple and Facebook, which have seen their shares soar in recent years. In contrast, Twitter's share price performed poorly after its 2013 initial public offering.

Sources expect Snap to also focus on user "stickiness," which is the amount of time users spend in the Snapchat app and the app's market share among people aged 18 to 34. Snap began visiting potential investors in November last year. Market research firm eMarketer predicts that although Snap has begun to expand its international business, revenue from non-U.S. businesses in 2015 was only US$18.3 million, accounting for approximately 5% of the company's total revenue. By 2018, Snap's international revenue is expected to reach $440 million, or 25% of the company's total revenue.

The New York Times noted that Linton would not join Snap's management. Snap has not commented on the report so far.

Editor: yvette