[benjikan]

I spoke to Pentax today and one of the people I spoke with felt that the Pentax-Hoya merger is a good thing for Pentax. None the less, at least the waiting is over...almost.

http://www.reuters.com/article/innovationNews/idUST29241120070516

[philmorley]

I spoke to Pentax today and one of the people I spoke with felt that the Pentax-Hoya merger is a good thing for Pentax. None the less, at least the waiting is over...almost.

Pentax to accept Hoya offer with conditions: source | Reuters

hopefully, after the success of the k100/k10 and with research already done Hoya will use some of their cash and off the shelf glass in a vertical integration move to expand and push out further.

[dwinnert]

I personally feel the Pentax name will survive, no matter all the doom and gloom I read on other forums.

It seems to me with money from Hoya, Pentax could gain a larger portion of the DSLR market. Having owned Nikon DSLRs and being a longtime Nikon user, I found the K10D to be a killer bargain in the pro DSLR world. Compared to the D200 I sold awhile back, I don't feel the least bit held back by using a K10D.

I always say...strip the exif and let the images be judged not the camera.

[wll]

I spoke to Pentax today and one of the people I spoke with felt that the Pentax-Hoya merger is a good thing for Pentax. None the less, at least the waiting is over...almost.

Pentax to accept Hoya offer with conditions: source | Reuters

I very much hope this helps Pentax and they start getting some of the lenses etc, etc, out.

I do want the 16-50mm f2.8 and the 50-135mm f2.8 knowing that Pentax is a viable camera company and not going away soon.

The cost of going to another camera maker that I did not like as well and would have cost me many $, and I was not looking forward to it.

Thank you for the info Ben.


wll

[HawaiianOnline]

Great...

Now, what about the 645D???

[Lazar]

This is a good thing... now will Hoya really keep (and how long?) the photo division or sell it to Samsung?

I don't really care (in both cases, new K-mount dslrs and lenses will be developed)... for now I just want the first 2 DA* released asap!

[MikePerham]

This is a good thing... now will Hoya really keep (and how long?) the photo division or sell it to Samsung?

I don't really care (in both cases, new K-mount dslrs and lenses will be developed)... for now I just want the first 2 DA* released asap!

Well, I have mine on preorder with a substantial down payment. I am still told delivery at the end of July.

Lets hope no longer than that! ...Mike.

[codiac2600]

This reports states that Pentax will only agree to the stock sale if it stays a subsidiary of Hoya and gets to keep the camera division:

TOKYO (AFP) - Japanese camera-maker Pentax has reached a preliminary agreement to be acquired by optical glass maker Hoya, a company official said Thursday, paving the way to set up a new major industry player.

In a meeting Wednesday, Pentax president Takashi Watanuki informed Hoya chief executive officer Hiroshi Suzuki of the company's intention to back an acquisition by tender offer, Hoya spokeswoman Akiko Maeyama said.

"He said the company was preparing for a press announcement to be released as soon as all the board members agree to the tender offer," she said.

"Details, including when to start the tender offer, will be discussed only after the agreement becomes official, but if everything goes smoothly it would take place as early as June," she said.

Pentax Corp. had agreed last year on a share swap with Hoya Corp. but then scrapped the merger when Pentax shareholders complained they were getting a bad deal.

But Pentax's president quit over the controversy and its new leadership has re-engaged in talks.
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Both companies have reported healthy profits. Analysts say their strengths would complement each other and put a combined company in a position to compete with sector heavyweights such as Olympus and Konica Minolta.

Suzuki and Watanuki agreed Pentax would remain a subsidiary under Hoya while the board members of the camera maker would retain their current positions, Maeyama said.

"We have also agreed to keep Pentax's three divisions -- camera, medical and optics," she added.

Pentax spokesman Jiro Okamura only confirmed that company executives met Wednesday, declining to give further details.

[Cideway]

This reports states that Pentax will only agree to the stock sale if it stays a subsidiary of Hoya and gets to keep the camera division:

Yes and i am sure that Hoya will stick by that deal for as long as it takes for their lawyers to figure out away around it.

[NaClH2O]

I really don't understand the large amount of antipathy towards Hoya. They have never said they would sell the imaging division. What they said in December was (paraphrase and italics mine) "If the imaging division loses money we will sell it" Right now it is one of the best performing divisions, why would they want to sell it? It even compliments their optical glass making division. I personally have always thought that a Hoya/Pentax merger would be good for Pentax, it gives them some deep R&D pockets which they could certainly use. I know next to nothing about Japanese businesses, but I know people who know A LOT and to a person they all feel that the merger is a good one for both companies.

NaCl(but we'll see)H2O

[volosong]

I personally feel the Pentax name will survive...

I just hope that Daimler Benz (Pentax) does not become like Daimler-Chrysler (Hoya/Pentax), with the resultant degradation and lesser quality of their products. A decade ago, a spirited debate could have been waged about Mercedes Benz automobiles being among the best designed and built in the world. Sadly, that is no longer true. They are 'junk'.

The inside joke among Mercedes owners goes like this..."you want to purchase a pre-1996 Mercedes because the ones before that were designed and built by engineers, and the one after that were designed and built my accountants".

Let's hope we won't have to make the same joke about pre- and post- K100D/K10D Pentax camera bodies.

-A Mercedes/Pentax fanboy (I've owned Mercedes automobiles and Pentax cameras for over 30 years).

[*isteve]

I really don't understand the large amount of antipathy towards Hoya. They have never said they would sell the imaging division. What they said in December was (paraphrase and italics mine) "If the imaging division loses money we will sell it" Right now it is one of the best performing divisions, why would they want to sell it? It even compliments their optical glass making division. I personally have always thought that a Hoya/Pentax merger would be good for Pentax, it gives them some deep R&D pockets which they could certainly use. I know next to nothing about Japanese businesses, but I know people who know A LOT and to a person they all feel that the merger is a good one for both companies.

NaCl(but we'll see)H2O

I will wait until I hear Hoya's intensions assuming it goes ahead. However the shareholder meeting is not till June 22nd and if Pentax is hopeful that a "white night" will charge out of the wilderness then they may want to keep their options open for a while at least.

I agree if they stay solo, shareholder pressure will force them to contract and cut costs.
(Its great isnt it - a bunch of city boys who've never run anything as complex as a corner shop telling a company that being in profit is not enough!) However a merger with Hoya may give them breathing space and investment. I just have no idea how it will pan out.

Maximising shareholder return in the short term is not always the best thing for a company. However I have been involved in a lot of restsructurings that turned out very well indeed for the company being bought. Its generally just the failures that get reported.

[philmorley]

I just hope that Daimler Benz (Pentax) does not become like Daimler-Chrysler (Hoya/Pentax), with the resultant degradation and lesser quality of their products. A decade ago, a spirited debate could have been waged about Mercedes Benz automobiles being among the best designed and built in the world. Sadly, that is no longer true. They are 'junk'.

The inside joke among Mercedes owners goes like this..."you want to purchase a pre-1996 Mercedes because the ones before that were designed and built by engineers, and the one after that were designed and built my accountants".

Let's hope we won't have to make the same joke about pre- and post- K100D/K10D Pentax camera bodies.

-A Mercedes/Pentax fanboy (I've owned Mercedes automobiles and Pentax cameras for over 30 years).

thats my concern with selling the camera division to samsung. They don't strike me as a company to make limiteds and pancakes etc

Phil

[wll]

thats my concern with selling the camera division to samsung. They don't strike me as a company to make limiteds and pancakes etc

Phil

No, they will make toasters !!!!

wll

[philmorley]

No, they will make toasters !!!!

wll

do they make coffee makers? sometimes when your up early trying for that perfect dawn landscape shot, I could appreciate an inbuilt coffee maker! certainly a good selling feature in my book