"Today, Olympus signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Japan Industrial Partners, Inc. (JIP). According to the MOU, both companies are committed to entering into further discussions about the transfer of Olympus’ long-standing Imaging business, known for its digital cameras and IC recorders, to JIP by the end of 2020.
During the ongoing discussions, Imaging will continue business as usual. Sales, service and marketing departments will continue to work hard to support customers passionate about photography with great products and services.
We believe this is the right step to preserve the legacy of the brand, the value of the technologies and the outstanding products. Olympus sees this transfer as an opportunity to enable its Imaging business to continue providing value to longtime and new customers, fans and photography enthusiasts."
Robin Wong, Olympus ambassador ("Olympus visionary"), is clarifying
what is actually happening to Olympus. His key message is: The brand will live on! The popular Zuiko brand of Olympus lenses will remain, too. He believes this move "may not be a bad thing", as this will be the only way for the brand to survive long term. As for what changes we should expect from this announcement by Olympus? "We don't know", Robin says, and he adds that "there's no point to speculate".
Silicon Valley capital took stake
The Wall Street Journal reported further today to give us some behind the scenes info:
Olympus Corp. is getting out of the camera business after 84 years to focus on medical devices. The Tokyo company, which has been under pressure from U.S. shareholder ValueAct Capital to improve shareholder returns, said Wednesday that it planned to sell its camera unit to private-equity firm Japan Industrial Partners Inc. It didn’t disclose financial details. The companies aim to complete their deal by the end of the year. San Francisco-based ValueAct said in 2018 it had taken a stake of more than 5% in Olympus. The next year, ValueAct partner Robert Hale joined Olympus’s board.
Here's a report by Nikkei from January 2019 when Robert Hale joined Olympus's board, this part sticks out:
The shadow of past accounting improprieties, Olympus' handling of which was widely criticized by foreign investors, appears to loom behind the unusual and drastic move of tapping an executive whose firm has been heavily pressuring the company since disclosing its stake.Olympus "will become a truly global medtech company" through the reforms, Takeuchi told reporters Friday, using an abbreviation for medical technology. Hale's possible addition to the board is expected to hasten the company's efforts.
I guess the writing was on the wall a year ago that these Silicon Valley investors won't be patient too long with Olympus's loss-making business units, regardless of the history of the brand, or the passionate and loyal fan base that use their photography gear for decades. Global capitalism doesn't care much about these things, it's all about the numbers, and optimizing profits.
It's gone ...they picked the micro 4/3 path and it was the wrong one. Such a great heritage too bad.
ReplyDeleteThe Angry Knob has already started the whole Olympus is dead etc thing. People commenting saying Pentax, Nikon or Panasonic will be next, it almost makes me sick.
ReplyDeleteI'm not surprised about the investors, Americans (as well as some others) are incredibly greedy, just look at the amount of American YouTubers and influencers that are putting a bad spin on photography just to get more likes and views, all for money. It's this sort of thing that creates this toxic and greedy environment that potentially ruins photography as a whole for some people.