The Japanese manufacturer unveiled plans on Wednesday to sell its imaging division to private equity firm Japan Industrial Partners Inc.
Along with Panasonic Corp., Olympus popularized the Micro Four Thirds format of digital photography. (Image: Pixabay/Satermedia)
Digital-camera pioneer Olympus Corp. will sell off its imaging business, blaming the rise of smartphones for its exit from a business it helped to foster more than two decades ago.
The Japanese manufacturer unveiled plans on Wednesday to sell its imaging division to private equity firm Japan Industrial Partners Inc. The camera business had been steadily shrinking over the past decade, making up 5.5% of revenue for the fiscal year that ended in March and posting operating losses for the past three years. Medical equipment such as endoscopes now fill the void, accounting for roughly four-fifths of annual sales.
Cost-cutting measures “to cope with the extremely severe digital camera market, due to, amongst others, rapid market shrink caused by the evolution of smartphones” were not sufficient to make the imaging unit profitable, Olympus said. No price was disclosed for the deal, which is set to be closed by the end of September.
Check for more detail:- https://indianexpress.comOlympus is getting out of the camera business
The company that bought VAIO now wants Zuiko and OM-D
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
Olympus has announced plans to get out of the camera business entirely, selling off its imaging division to an investment fund. Japan Industrial Partners, the company that bought the VAIO computer business from Sony, has signed a memorandum of understanding that will see Olympus spin out the division and transfer all of its shares.
The imaging division is a small part of Olympus’ business, which is now largely focused on providing medical equipment such as endoscopes. CEO Yasuo Takeuchi hinted to reporters last year that the camera division wasn’t off-limits for a sale, although the company later downplayed those remarks.
Olympus says it “implemented measures to cope with the extremely severe digital camera market, due to, amongst others, rapid market shrink caused by the evolution of smartphones,” but has concluded that its efforts weren’t enough. As it did with VAIO, JIP plans to streamline the business and will continue to develop products using Olympus brands such as OM-D and Zuiko.
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