Forgot Password
Pentax Camera Forums Home
 

Reply
Show Printable Version Search this Thread
06-24-2020, 12:55 AM - 3 Likes   #1
Pentaxian
Mistral75's Avatar

Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Paris, France
Posts: 7,514
Olympus will sell their Imaging business to Japan Industrial Partners

Olympus announced today they will sell their Imaging business to Japan Industrial Partners (JIP):

Signing of Memorandum of Understanding for Divestiture of Imaging Business - ir00013.pdf

The acquirer, Japan Industrial Partners, are a Japanese private equity fund specialising in restructuring / turnaround situations. They buy loss-making businesses, strive to make them profitable and, once done, resell them to corporate acquirers.

To give an example: they bought Sony's PC business (Vaio).

06-24-2020, 01:34 AM - 2 Likes   #2
Pentaxian
sundown's Avatar

Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 588
Funny how there were people on both side of:
"Oh, there is nothing wrong with Olympus - it's all rumours"
And other people saying "this is going down, stay and watch"
And along the way management was making public statements how everything is sunshine
06-24-2020, 01:53 AM - 2 Likes   #3
Closed Account




Join Date: Feb 2019
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 819
I hope they survive, I've a soft spot for Olympus having owned the OM1, 2 and 10. If I didn't have a Pentax, I'd have an Olympus.
06-24-2020, 02:21 AM - 1 Like   #4
Pentaxian
D1N0's Avatar

Join Date: May 2012
Location: ---
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 6,802
Sony laptops have all but disappeared from the European market. Maybe they are just focusing on Japan. Not so good news. Private Equity isn't very patient.

06-24-2020, 02:27 AM   #5
Pentaxian
Paul the Sunman's Avatar

Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Melbourne
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 4,838
There's no indication in the MoU that they get to keep the Olympus name!
06-24-2020, 02:43 AM - 1 Like   #6
Site Supporter
Site Supporter




Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Lancaster
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 3,821
I am not totally surprised. They do make beautiful cameras but they are a bit of a niche. The omd e-?10 is really small and, being m4/3, another thing that people have been killing for years, maybe they are just missing their targets. The omd is a small camera, possibly to replace a phone in the hands of young aspiring photographers, but styled like the camera "your dad used". They are a glorious thing and, had it been apsc, I would have seriously considered it as a platform. Olympus have brought out quite a few new versions of late, maybe they overreached themselves, not something you can accuse pentax of lol. So, that just leaves us as the last of the little guys. We aren't a niche because Pentax cameras are a Pentaxian take on mainstream. I just hope Ricoh have a love affair with photography.
06-24-2020, 02:53 AM   #7
Pentaxian
Mistral75's Avatar

Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Paris, France
Posts: 7,514
Original Poster
QuoteOriginally posted by D1N0 Quote
Sony laptops have all but disappeared from the European market. Maybe they are just focusing on Japan. Not so good news. Private Equity isn't very patient.
JIP relaunched Vaio in Japan first, then in additional markets such as Brazil and the USA. Not in Europe.

VAIO|個人向けモバイルノートパソコン

VAIO | Experience VAIO TruePerformance

06-24-2020, 02:57 AM   #8
Pentaxian
Mistral75's Avatar

Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Paris, France
Posts: 7,514
Original Poster
QuoteOriginally posted by Paul the Sunman Quote
There's no indication in the MoU that they get to keep the Olympus name!
Indeed, there is none. On the other hand the press release explicitly states the OM-D and Zuiko brands will be part of the transaction.

The way some sentences are worded makes me feel that the new entity won't be allowed to use the Olympus brand after a transition period.

It may well be that Olympus's goal is not just to get rid of their loss-making Imaging business, but also to separate their name from whatever will become of the new company in the future.

Besides, JIP are known to exclusively resell their businesses to corporate acquirers, therefore it would be logical for them to capitalise on and develop such own brands as OM-D and Zuiko, which any acquirer can then further build upon.
06-24-2020, 03:46 AM - 1 Like   #9
Pentaxian




Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 2,382
QuoteOriginally posted by sundown Quote
Funny how there were people on both side of:
"Oh, there is nothing wrong with Olympus - it's all rumours"
And other people saying "this is going down, stay and watch"
And along the way management was making public statements how everything is sunshine
It’s just a role play. The ones who know don’t tell, the ones who tell don’t know.
06-24-2020, 03:48 AM   #10
Site Supporter
Site Supporter
ramseybuckeye's Avatar

Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Hampstead, NC
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 17,277
I also interpreted this release as implying they will not get the Olympus name. But including the Zuiko name in the sale would make sense because it is probably only used for lenses.

I had no idea that there was still a Vaio brand. When it was a Sony product it was visible everywhere, a tribute to Sony’s distribution system.
06-24-2020, 04:02 AM - 1 Like   #11
Pentaxian
D1N0's Avatar

Join Date: May 2012
Location: ---
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 6,802
The name will at least stay on current products. A new name would make the value of the operation a lot less because then you really loose the legacy. TCFKAO would not sell very well.
06-24-2020, 04:07 AM - 1 Like   #12
Pentaxian
Mistral75's Avatar

Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Paris, France
Posts: 7,514
Original Poster
QuoteOriginally posted by D1N0 Quote
The name will at least stay on current products. A new name would make the value of the operation a lot less because then you really loose the legacy. TCFKAO would not sell very well.
What would be the difference between an OM-D camera and a Zuiko lens on the one hand, a Pentax camera and a Takumar lens during the Asahi Optical era on the other hand?
06-24-2020, 04:32 AM - 3 Likes   #13
Pentaxian




Join Date: Dec 2011
Posts: 3,112
mFT is dead

With Olympus pretty close to dropping out I can't see mFT surviving.
06-24-2020, 04:40 AM   #14
Loyal Site Supporter
Loyal Site Supporter
boriscleto's Avatar

Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: North Syracuse, NY
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 16,464
QuoteOriginally posted by beholder3 Quote
With Olympus pretty close to dropping out I can't see mFT surviving.
Who said whatever company emerges will be dropping m4/3? They are kind of stuck with it unless they want to develop an entirely new line of lenses using L mount like Panasonic...
06-24-2020, 04:46 AM - 1 Like   #15
Site Supporter
Site Supporter




Join Date: May 2019
Photos: Albums
Posts: 5,976
QuoteOriginally posted by boriscleto Quote
Who said whatever company emerges will be dropping m4/3? They are kind of stuck with it unless they want to develop an entirely new line of lenses using L mount like Panasonic...
Olympus have failed to make their camera business profitable for quite a long time, Panasonic has bailed out for FF and there is quite some push away from smaller sensors - a private equity fund doesn't strike me like the kind to try to stick to the idea unless they really think they can make it soar.
Reply

Bookmarks
  • Submit Thread to Facebook Facebook
  • Submit Thread to Twitter Twitter
  • Submit Thread to Digg Digg
Tags - Make this thread easier to find by adding keywords to it!
assets, brand, business, business to japan, camera, cameras, company, consumer, dslr, japan, lenses, market, million, olympus, partners, pentax, photo industry, photography, pm, portfolio, post, products, size, sony, stuff, time, winter, youtube
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Nikon recommendation: sell! sell! sell! beholder3 Photographic Industry and Professionals 173 02-09-2021 11:20 AM
Nature Traveling Partners ToddK Post Your Photos! 11 01-18-2020 04:35 PM
Panasonic leaving the imaging sensor business UncleVanya Photographic Industry and Professionals 15 12-05-2019 07:50 AM
Cactus Imaging - Is it still in business? JeffBurns Photographic Industry and Professionals 8 04-22-2019 04:29 AM
PENTAX RICOH IMAGING AMERICAS CORPORATION Partners with the Animal Humane Society to Adam Homepage & Official Pentax News 13 06-14-2012 01:10 PM



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 06:43 AM. | See also: NikonForums.com, CanonForums.com part of our network of photo forums!
  • Red (Default)
  • Green
  • Gray
  • Dark
  • Dark Yellow
  • Dark Blue
  • Old Red
  • Old Green
  • Old Gray
  • Dial-Up Style
Hello! It's great to see you back on the forum! Have you considered joining the community?
register
Creating a FREE ACCOUNT takes under a minute, removes ads, and lets you post! [Dismiss]
Top