UPDATE 2-Sony affiliate shelves plasma plant purchase
(Adds company confirmation, share price)
TOKYO, Nov 5 (Reuters) - A Sony Corp (6758.T) affiliate said on Wednesday it has put on hold plans to acquire a plasma factory in Kagoshima, western Japan, from Pioneer Corp (6773.T) due to difficulties in obtaining funding from investment banks.
Field Emission Technologies Inc, 39.8 percent-owned by Sony, is having difficulty securing funding for the acquisition, estimated to be around 20-30 billion yen ($200-301 million), a spokesman said.
"Things are not going as originally planned. We are going to have to review our plans and consider other financing options," he said without elaborating.
FET, set up in 2006 between Sony and investment fund Technology Carve-Out Investment LLC to develop ultra-thin displays, had originally planned to buy Pioneer's factory by the end of March 2009.
Shares of Sony closed up 9.1 percent at 2,580 yen, outperforming the benchmark Nikkei average .N225, which rose 4.5 percent. (Reporting by Mayumi Negishi and Taiga Uranaka)
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