Sony said that its troubled handset joint venture with Ericsson will seek to raise at least $135.5 million in new funds by next March. The specific disclosure, made by a Sony spokeswoman, brings to a head speculation about the financial troubles Sony Ericsson faces.

The news comes a week after Sony said it would seek to raise $1 billion from capital markets, and that some of the money raised may be used for Sony Ericsson. Sony CFO Nobuyuki Oneda said last week that Sony Ericsson would need to get more cash in some way, either through bank loans or direct capital injections. How the money will be raised will be decided by Sony and Ericsson, a Sony spokeswoman said.

Sony Ericsson posted a $386 million net loss for the first quarter and sales fell 36 percent year-over-year. As a result, the the company said it would cut 2,000 jobs, or about one-fifth of its workforce.

For more:
- see this Reuters article [1]

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