Sony could be about to pump almost £400m into struggling camera company Olympus.
The two companies are in the final stages of discussions, according to Nikkei. Sony's 50bn yen (£399m) investment would make it Olympus' single biggest shareholder, holding more than 10 per cent of its stock.
It's thought Olympus and Sony would work together on medical equipment and in other areas, though there are no concrete details. Olympus has 70 per cent of the market for endoscopes, while Sony is big in optical sensors, so together they could be a force to be reckoned with.
Expanding further into the medical market could be a wise move for Olympus as the company's camera business has steadily been losing money for the last two years, despite some pretty nifty Micro Four Thirds models. And let's not forget the hard-as-nails tough cams. Sony is also struggling of late, planning to let go thousands of staff.
It would be a much-needed boost for Olympus, which has been struggling since former president Michael Woodford tried to hide nearly £1bn of investment losses dating back to the 1990s. Woodford was fired, and then attempted a coup, demanding the entire board resign, and telling shareholders and employees his return would clean up the company. Nice try.
Olympus' head office was even raided live on Japanese TV back before Christmas, with a horde of besuited Matrix extra lookalikes storming in to get to the bottom of the matter. It was a dramatic scene indeed.
Sony competed with Panasonic, Fujifilm and Terumo Corp to seal the partnership with Olympus. It was initially thought that Panasonic would be the most likely potential partner for the ailing company, as it already works with Olympus on the Micro Four Thirds technology.
A deal is expected sometime next month, but both companies have refused to comment on the matter for now.
Do you think Sony should invest in Olympus? Let me know in the comments, or on our Facebook page.
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Daniel Rawr 24 June, 2012 20:07
So Sony fire 10000 people coz theyve lost billions in the last few years...then they go and spend 400mil on near dead brand...!!!
kallikrates 27 June, 2012 09:13
Did I read only this week that Nikon now have 2 m4/3 cameras? Also there was a rumour that Canon were headed over to m4/3 too, so Olympus must have been doing something right. The company went over to digital with 4/3 in a much more honest way than the other companies, with telecentric lens design and a clean sheet of paper instead of cobbling something up around existing film models, and should be applauded for that. The marketing has been chaotic though. Also Olympus's high handed attitude to its customers seems like a self inflicted wound. For instance the flagship E5 has a feature that some would use, Camera Control/Tethered Shooting, that cannot be used as there is little or no software for it. It needs a shake up, but does deserve to survive and prosper. No comment on Daniel Rawr's contribution.
anonymous 29 June, 2012 23:57
i think that on further investigation Woodward was a hero for revealing dodgy practices commited in secret by members of the board.
anonymous 10 July, 2012 23:45
geez, at least get the facts right! michael woodford tried to hide losses?!
latestcamera 17 July, 2012 06:07
Yes,Michael Woodford hide losses from masses but I guess he had no other option, If any one would have been at his place he to have done this.
anonymous 30 July, 2012 19:51
Apart from Olympus products in the medical field their lenses and especially the E-5's are completely underestimated by professionals.
A liasion not only with Sony's financial strength but also with Sony's wide experience in the video area in combination with the combatibility of the "Four Thirds" system may sound a bit as future music, but could be a renaisance Nikon and Canon will have to consider.