[Kevin B123]

I think the big thing that has changed is that the Hedge Fund ValueAct has purchased a stake in Olympus and has forced them to put three outsiders on the board. While the company as a whole may be making money, those sorts of folks are not the kind who will sit easy with a division that has chronically been losing money and they'll pressure them to either turn it around or downsize it considerably.

For the sake of photographers, I hope it isn't true. We need more options when it comes to photographic gear and more companies innovating. When we lose one, we all lose, even if we don't shoot with the company that shut things down.

Maybe, just maybe they will be a positive influence.
Imagine if they forced an improvement in the chronic (sic) user interface, that may open up a section of potential buyers who previously turned away when they read about the bad it was. That could even be done retrospectively via a firmware update.
I think they make nice kit and I considered them before Pentax, I have not owned one to date.

[StiffLegged]

I would read and believe real business data more than the camera nerd site which only reports rumor without backchecking a story.

This.

Especially when Fstoppers are only duplicating what another site, PhotoRumors, is speculating on.

[monochrome]

I think the big thing that has changed is that the Hedge Fund ValueAct has purchased a stake in Olympus and has forced them to put three outsiders on the board. While the company as a whole may be making money, those sorts of folks are not the kind who will sit easy with a division that has chronically been losing money and they'll pressure them to either turn it around or downsize it considerably.

For the sake of photographers, I hope it isn't true. We need more options when it comes to photographic gear and more companies innovating. When we lose one, we all lose, even if we don't shoot with the company that shut things down.

Hedge Funds (asset liquidators / private equity value buyers) want to get something for impaired assets to help reduce any borrowings used to acquire their stake. I suspect they would prefer Olympus sold Imaging (and the associated inventory and real estate) as a going concern to someone as opposed to just ceasing production and fire-saleing the stock - unless the tax benefit of writing down Imaging to zero is large enough to be the “Something”. I suppose one question is how large Goodwill for Camera Brand is on the parent co books.

[Mistral75]

The official answer to the rumour of Olympus shutting down their camera business, given by an Olympus representative and reported by Sina Finance:

奥林巴斯公司公布新经营战略 称不会关停相机业务_新浪财经_新浪网

'The Imaging business has always been the driving force of technology, including imaging technology and mass production technology, and has made tremendous contributions to the Medical and Scientific Solutions businesses. As stated in the new business strategy, since the Imaging business and the Scientific Solutions business are important businesses supporting the group, we will continue to work on improving the profitability and efficiency of these two business segments.'

According to the current medium-term management plan, the targets for the group are a CAGR of 6% (including external growth) and a 20% operating margin.

'The business plan for the next fiscal year is designed to ensure the development of the Scientific Solutions business and the stability of the Imaging business and to focus on the best market for each product portfolio. Detailed information about these business plans will be made available in the next quarter's earnings report.'

[ffking]

No photographer should take any pleasure in seeing any camera company that has been a part of camera history in trouble - and I don't think anybody here will - especially, as Pentaxians, we have gone through that trauma. I personally think that Olympus have put too many eggs in too small a basket and spent too much on advertising for a long time now, but there is a way back from there, so I hope thye find it without the camera division being sold off - I think we were lucky to land with Ricoh, but it's a very uncertain business

[bdery]

Olympus has been in trouble for several years, but I certainly do not wish them ill. A healthy market, where small players remain interesting and keep innovating, is better for everyone.

[The Squirrel Mafia]

I guess we'll find out what happens a few months from now.

[Mistral75]

I guess we'll find out what happens a few months from now.

Six months from now according to the statement I translated.

[clackers]

I'm afraid your title 'F-Stoppers repeating rumour Olympus has less than twelve months left' is a bit misleading: it's Olympus Imaging that could have less than twelve months left, not Olympus Corp.

I think we photographers all understand it's their camera division, or it wouldn't be posted here in a photography forum as news, Mistral.

The link I provide explicitly says 'Imaging Division'.

I also point out that it's just a rumour, no doubt helped by the appearance of three new board members courtesy of ValueAct.

This is so sad, happening to an icon. The first camera I ever used was my dad's 35mm Olympus.

[RobA_Oz]

Maybe, just maybe they will be a positive influence.
Imagine if they forced an improvement in the chronic (sic) user interface, that may open up a section of potential buyers who previously turned away when they read about the bad it was. That could even be done retrospectively via a firmware update.
I think they make nice kit and I considered them before Pentax, I have not owned one to date.

I’m not sure what you meant by “chronic user interface”. Having been a Pentax shooter for most of my adult life (film as well as digital), I’m probably used to their way of doing things, but having recently supplemented my Pentax kit with an OM-D EM5ii, I don’t find it chronically-bad (if that’s what you meant), either the manual controls or the menu system.

Aside from that, it seems Sony’s major contribution to Olympus was providing bridging finance and walking away with a large profit, but no-one here would probably be surprised by that. It’s hardly the company that Akio Morita founded, now.

[Rondec]

Hedge Funds (asset liquidators / private equity value buyers) want to get something for impaired assets to help reduce any borrowings used to acquire their stake. I suspect they would prefer Olympus sold Imaging (and the associated inventory and real estate) as a going concern to someone as opposed to just ceasing production and fire-saleing the stock - unless the tax benefit of writing down Imaging to zero is large enough to be the “Something”. I suppose one question is how large Goodwill for Camera Brand is on the parent co books.

I wonder who would be interested in purchasing Olympus Imaging? The only thing I could think would be some Chinese brand purchasing it. I guess there are different examples of that -- Lenovo bought ThinkPad from IBM for one thing, but not sure how valuable the imaging arm is when they have lost 1 billion dollars over the last ten-ish years.

[monochrome]

I wonder who would be interested in purchasing Olympus Imaging? The only thing I could think would be some Chinese brand purchasing it. I guess there are different examples of that -- Lenovo bought ThinkPad from IBM for one thing, but not sure how valuable the imaging arm is when they have lost 1 billion dollars over the last ten-ish years.

I can’t imagine, but I don’t have a broad understanding of the imaging industry, as someone such as @Mistral75 does. It seems clear that the imaging (cameras and lenses) industry is over capitalized at the moment, such that for return on capital to increase either profitable cash flow must increase or capital must decease. Ricoh reduced capital by writing down part of Ricoh Imaging, declaring (IIRC*) the compact camera facilities Impaired Capital and taking an associated write off. Olympus Corp could do something similar, leaving part of the Imaging operation intact

There will be a reckoning in the imaging industry before long. Apple and Samsung are quite intentionally disrupting it.

* I’m sure Mistral will correct my recall.

[Mistral75]

I wonder who would be interested in purchasing Olympus Imaging? The only thing I could think would be some Chinese brand purchasing it. I guess there are different examples of that -- Lenovo bought ThinkPad from IBM for one thing, but not sure how valuable the imaging arm is when they have lost 1 billion dollars over the last ten-ish years.

Somebody interested in a larger footprint in the µ4/3 market? Somebody currently more video-oriented than still-oriented, looking for complementary products? Sharp, Japanese but with a Chinese (OK, Taiwanese) controlling shareholder (Foxconn) who wants them to diversify from BtoB into BtoC?

[Mistral75]

(...) Ricoh reduced capital by writing down part of Ricoh Imaging, declaring (IIRC*) the compact camera facilities Impaired Capital and taking an associated write off. (...)

* I’m sure Mistral will correct my recall.

Your recall is quite correct. Ricoh wrote down the entirety of the acquisition goodwill and part of the residual value of the factories bought from Hoya -I don't know whether it only impacted the compact camera facilities.

[clackers]

I wonder who would be interested in purchasing Olympus Imaging? The only thing I could think would be some Chinese brand purchasing it. I guess there are different examples of that -- Lenovo bought ThinkPad from IBM for one thing, but not sure how valuable the imaging arm is when they have lost 1 billion dollars over the last ten-ish years.

Lenovo were the factories that were making the PCs, servers and notebooks for IBM, so essentially they were buying the right to sell what they were already manufacturing.

Hasselblad was bought by the drone manufacturers DJI.

It will be hard for due diligence to approve acquiring a camera company … external consultants would always ask, 'Why would you buy a failing firm in an industry that is in overall fall and is not expected to rebound … it will continue to drop for a number of years to a 'floor' of pros and enthusiastic amateurs'?