Sony Corporation of America to Acquire Gracenote

Sony Corporation of America (SCA)
announced today that it has signed a merger agreement with Gracenote,
Inc. Sony will pay approximately $260 million plus other contingent
consideration.

"Gracenote is a global leader in technology and services for digital
media identification, enrichment, and recommendation, and these
capabilities will be essential to the next wave of innovation in
content, services, and consumer electronics," said Tim Schaaff, SCA
Senior Vice President, Software.
"Sony sees tremendous growth potential in developing Gracenote as a
separately run business unit, and by broadly embracing Gracenote’s
platforms, Sony expects to significantly enhance and accelerate its own
digital content, service, and device initiatives."

"We are very pleased to join Sony as its strategic vision is
very much in line with our own," said Craig Palmer, Gracenote CEO.
"Having a closer connection with the content and digital services
community will accelerate adoption of Gracenote technologies, and the
relationship will also give us the resources necessary to rapidly
expand development of next generation products for the industry."

Gracenote’s existing business will continue to operate separately. As a
wholly owned Sony subsidiary, Gracenote will continue to develop new
technologies in existing as well as new areas of operation. The senior
management team will remain with the company.

Sony and Gracenote anticipate that the transaction will close in late
May, subject to certain regulatory and other approvals.

About Gracenote

Gracenote is a global leader in embedded technology, enriched content,
and data services for digital entertainment solutions within the
Internet, consumer electronics, mobile, and automotive markets. Formerly
known as CDDB®, Gracenote delivers a substantially improved consumer
experience in digital media devices and applications, plus media
monitoring and other data services to the recording industry, making it
an integral part of the digital media economy. Gracenote powers leading
services including Apple iTunes, Yahoo! Music Jukebox, Winamp; home and
automotive products from Alpine, Panasonic, Philips and Sony; and mobile
music applications from Samsung, Sony Ericsson, KDDI (Japan), KTF
(Korea), Musiwave (Europe), and others. Gracenote is headquartered in
Emeryville, California. www.gracenote.com/corporate
.

About Sony Corporation of America

Sony Corporation of America, based in New York, NY, is a U.S. subsidiary
of Sony Corporation, headquartered in Tokyo. Sony is a leading
manufacturer of audio, video, communications, and information technology
products for the consumer and professional markets. Its motion picture,
television, computer entertainment, music and online businesses make
Sony one of the most comprehensive entertainment companies in the world.
Sony's principal U.S. businesses include Sony Electronics Inc., Sony
Pictures Entertainment Inc., Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.,
and a 50% interest in Sony BMG Music Entertainment, one of the largest
recorded music companies in the world. Sony recorded consolidated
annual sales of approximately $70.3 billion for the fiscal year ended
March 31, 2007, and it employs 163,000 people worldwide. Sony's
consolidated sales in the U.S. for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2007
were $18.9 billion. www.sony.com