Perhaps, The Pentax Brand will survive

[racort]

This article is from THE ASAHI SHIMBUN."

Pentax to accept merger with Hoya"
05/17/2007

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN


After a number of twists and turns, camera maker Pentax Corp. expressed its intention Wednesday to accept Hoya Corp.'s proposal to merge through a public tender offer, sources said.

Pentax President Takashi Watanuki told Hiroshi Suzuki, chief executive officer of the maker of optical lenses and glasses, that Pentax would accept Hoya's takeover bid if some conditions are met.

One condition is that some current Pentax board members will remain at their posts. The camera maker also asked that Hoya ensure the independence of Pentax's management after the merger.

The Pentax side also called for the continuation of its three core operations--optical components, medical equipment and digital cameras.

Hoya will discuss the proposed conditions and reach a decision next week at the earliest after Pentax makes the requests official.

During the meeting Wednesday, Hoya's Suzuki asked Watanuki of Pentax if the proposed conditions were based on a unanimous consensus of the board.

Watanuki replied that he would obtain collective approval, sources said.

The Pentax side did not refer to the fate of former President Fumio Urano, who had clashed with management and angered shareholders over an earlier agreement he brokered with Hoya, and another former executive, the sources said. The two were demoted, but they remain on Pentax's board of directors.

Pentax later rejected that equity-swap agreement.

Sparx Group Co., an investment fund and the top shareholder of Pentax, had planned to propose that Urano retain his post on the board at a shareholders meeting in June.

Hoya may accept Pentax's proposals because it wants to avoid a hostile takeover bid.

If the two sides reach an agreement, Hoya will launch a public tender offer in June or later to acquire more than two-thirds of Pentax shares. Hoya said it will pay 770 yen per Pentax share in the public tender offer.

Pentax, once a giant in the camera industry, now holds less than 5 percent of the global digital camera market.(IHT/Asahi: May 17,2007) "

"My thoughts on this article"

Now, if Hoya accepts ths conditions Pentax has asked for, the merger might be a good thing. If Pentax can continue in the direction its heading at this point, high quality and innovative camera and lens design, I can see it being a competitor and profit maker. I think the key word here is massive advertising campaigns and timely product delivery.
Then again, Pentax could just be stalling until after the May 31 deadline on Hoya's merger offer. Pentax could have some white knight investor group waiting in the wings to push Hoya out and save them. Stranger things have happened before. I guess at this point only time will tell. Credit to Takashi Watanuki, it appears he is fighting to the end to assure Pentax's survival in part. .

[Jonson PL]

Hi,
thanks for the info

[wll]

Originally Posted by racort

This article is from THE ASAHI SHIMBUN."

Pentax to accept merger with Hoya"
05/17/2007

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN


After a number of twists and turns, camera maker Pentax Corp. expressed its intention Wednesday to accept Hoya Corp.'s proposal to merge through a public tender offer, sources said.

Pentax President Takashi Watanuki told Hiroshi Suzuki, chief executive officer of the maker of optical lenses and glasses, that Pentax would accept Hoya's takeover bid if some conditions are met.

One condition is that some current Pentax board members will remain at their posts. The camera maker also asked that Hoya ensure the independence of Pentax's management after the merger.

The Pentax side also called for the continuation of its three core operations--optical components, medical equipment and digital cameras.

Hoya will discuss the proposed conditions and reach a decision next week at the earliest after Pentax makes the requests official.

During the meeting Wednesday, Hoya's Suzuki asked Watanuki of Pentax if the proposed conditions were based on a unanimous consensus of the board.

Watanuki replied that he would obtain collective approval, sources said.

The Pentax side did not refer to the fate of former President Fumio Urano, who had clashed with management and angered shareholders over an earlier agreement he brokered with Hoya, and another former executive, the sources said. The two were demoted, but they remain on Pentax's board of directors.

Pentax later rejected that equity-swap agreement.

Sparx Group Co., an investment fund and the top shareholder of Pentax, had planned to propose that Urano retain his post on the board at a shareholders meeting in June.

Hoya may accept Pentax's proposals because it wants to avoid a hostile takeover bid.

If the two sides reach an agreement, Hoya will launch a public tender offer in June or later to acquire more than two-thirds of Pentax shares. Hoya said it will pay 770 yen per Pentax share in the public tender offer.

Pentax, once a giant in the camera industry, now holds less than 5 percent of the global digital camera market.(IHT/Asahi: May 17,2007) "

"My thoughts on this article"

Now, if Hoya accepts ths conditions Pentax has asked for, the merger might be a good thing. If Pentax can continue in the direction its heading at this point, high quality and innovative camera and lens design, I can see it being a competitor and profit maker. I think the key word here is massive advertising campaigns and timely product delivery.
Then again, Pentax could just be stalling until after the May 31 deadline on Hoya's merger offer. Pentax could have some white knight investor group waiting in the wings to push Hoya out and save them. Stranger things have happened before. I guess at this point only time will tell. Credit to Takashi Watanuki, it appears he is fighting to the end to assure Pentax's survival in part. .

Thank you,


wll

[stewart_photo]

Originally Posted by racort

The Pentax side also called for the continuation of its three core operations--optical components, medical equipment and digital cameras.

Before celebrating, everyone should note the next line after that; "Hoya will discuss the proposed conditions and reach a decision next week at the earliest after Pentax makes the requests official."

In other words, this article is not saying Hoya has agreed to keep any one of the three operations (optical components, medical equipment, digital cameras), only that the continuation of these operations was a unofficial request by Pentax.

I have few doubts Hoya will continue the digital camera operation, but this article is not really a confirmation of that. The article under the thread "Looks Promising Hoya Keeps Camera Division" elsewhere in this forum goes much further in that regard.

stewart