> >From reading the articles, they're claiming that Hoya mentioned this
>deal over a year ago and Pentax turned them down. My suspicion is that
>Hoya wasn't that eager until they saw the success of the K100D and K10D.
>
>I think both companies stand to benefit enormously from this deal :)
>
>
>
>Mark Roberts
That's backwards if you ask me. If Hoya mentioned the deal and Pentax turned
them down, how does that equate to Hoya NOT being that eager? It was
apparently Pentax that was not eager, since at that point in time, they did
not take them up on it.
Nothing says a proposing suitor is not eager, even if they're turned down by
the prospective bride.
I agree that both companies may benefit, especially Pentax from the cash
influx.
>From a recent report: (in a nusthell it says they are acquiring Pentax
mainly for their medical imaging business, not their consumer camera
business).
TOKYO (Nikkei)--Hoya Corp. (7741) aims to boost profit by merging with
Pentax Corp. (7750) and absorbing its technology.
A strong financial position will allow Hoya to effectively acquire
Pentax,
whose market capitalization is around 88 billion yen, compared with Hoya's
1.96
trillion yen or so. The merged entity, Hoya Pentax HD Corp., will be
launched
in October 2007.
Hoya is poised to further develop the profitability of its mainstay
products, including glass substrates for hard-disk drives. It also hopes to
create a new source of revenue by tapping into Pentax's technology.
"Their medical devices business looked very attractive," Hoya President
Hiroshi Suzuki said of Pentax in an interview Thursday with The Nihon Keizai
Shimbun.
Pentax's strengths in medical devices include endoscopes and other
equipment. Its sales from this field totaled 33.1 billion yen in the year
ended March 31, trailing only Olympus Corp. (7733) and Fujinon Corp. on a
global basis.
But while Olympus offers an endoscope with cancer detection
functionality,
and Fujinon markets a transnasal endoscope, Pentax has lagged in development
of
value-added products. The merger will enable Pentax to take advantage of
Hoya's capital and rebuild its R&D capabilities.
Hoya's financial prowess is also expected to benefit Pentax's digital
camera operations, which have languished in market share. Pentax has found
success with its digital SLR (single-lens reflex) cameras targeting
individuals
with beginner- to intermediate-level photography skills, but its digital SLR
production base is limited to the Philippines.
There are concerns that Pentax's inventory shortages will hurt its
sales
performance in the year-end holiday shopping season. The presence of such
electronics manufacturers as Sony Corp. (6758) and Matsushita Electric
Industrial Co. (6752) in the digital camera market is also expected to
intensify price competition. Instead, Pentax may opt to scale back its low-
margin compact digital cameras and work on building up its production
structure
for the growth potential market of digital SLRs.
------
Tom C.
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