Olympus Plans To Sell Its Camera Business
Olympus Corporation announced that it has signed a âmemorandum of understandingâ to separate its Olympus Imaging Business Unit into a new companyâreferred to in the press release as simply âNewCoâ for the present timeâwhich will be sold to Japan Industrial Partners. The companies expect to have a formal agreement in place by September 30, and to finalize the transaction by the end of this year.
What this means exactly for Olympus shooters is not clear, though the press release states that NewCo will be the âsuccessor of reputable brands such as âOM-Dâ and âZUIKO,ââ with the implication that NewCo will continue to develop and support new products in those lines.
Olympus cites the contraction of the digital camera market and three consecutive years of operating losses as the reasons motivating this decision. The intent is that the new company will be able to streamline its operations to reduce costs. âOlympus considers that, by carving-out the Imaging business and by operating the business with JIP, the Imaging businessâs corporate structure may become more compact, efficient and agile.â
During the process, Olympusâs imaging division will continue to operate as usual and intends to launch new products already planned.
For more information, see the âSigning of Memorandum of Understanding for Divesture of Imaging Solutions Businessâ at the global Olympus website: https://www.olympus-global.com/ir/data/announcement/2020/contents/ir00013.pdf