Japanese multinational conglomerate company Sony Corporation has agreed to sell half of its stake in Japan-based Olympus Corporation to fund strategic investments. The company headquartered in K? nan Minato, Tokyo has made the decision about two year after both companies formed a medical-device venture.

On Wednesday, the electronics maker released a statement where it said that Sony has entered a deal to sell the shares to global financial services firm JPMorgan Chase & Co. The move has reduced its Olympus holding to approximately 5%. In a separate statement which has been released on Thursday, Sony said that the stock sold for about 71.8 billion yen.

Sony, which is the largest shareholder in the maker of endoscopes and cameras, pared its holdings after its agreement to pay about 50 billion yen for the stake. The company had taken the decision in 2012. According to Tokyo- based Sony, it has decided to book a 46.8 billion-yen windfall from the contract in the present quarter.

At the close in Tokyo trading, shares of Sony rose more than 3% to 3,336 yen, while shares of Shinjuku headquartered Olympus fell about 4.1% to 4,240 yen. The drop was the biggest for Olympus since November last year. The benchmark Topix Index rose more than 1.5%.

Koji Kurata, spokesman for Sony, said in a statement, "We plan to use the funds to strengthen our financial base and for growth investments. We still intend to continue collaborating and maintain our partnership".

Chief Executive Officer Kazuo Hirai said that he wants the company to move into health-care equipment. For that, company can use the edge its image sensors have over its rivals. Such sensors are also used in smartphones and compact cameras.