On 12/22/06 8:26 AM, "Bob Sullivan", <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> I think Pentax and Hoya are both pretty schrewd. > Pentax has been a small company competing with a giant like Canon. > They need a big brother to help them. > > Hoya is no dummy either. They get a high quality, good reputation > lens and camera maker to market products in the higher end of the > consumer market where the profits are better. And then there is the > other end of the market - medical imaging. ;-) Hello Bob, I agree. As it was such a sudden surprise, everybody was caught off guard. If you come to think of it, all in all, it should provide a great synergy. So after a couple of nights, I came to realization that business as usual and perhaps even better :-). As a side note, this "management integration" as termed in their press release, which I think describes the move more accurately, was really a surprise to even most seasoned analysts, according to some article I read. It has apparently been known for quite some time among analysts that Hoya, with its abundant cash reserve, has been looking for acquisition target. They predicted spectacle glasses makers as most probable target, including some in Europe. Now knowing that this "management integration" talk was suddenly resurrected in the last couple of months, and reading the statement by pentax president saying he disliked M&A, I guess what might have happened was that Pentax was a take over target by someone, and rather than being absorbed by someone they do not particularly like, they may have agreed to get together with Hoya on the condition that their Imaging Division be preserved. Any time when rather a compact company showed good success like Pentax, they become a delicious target of acquisition even by TBO etc. I of course do not know what exactly had happened but the timing was certainly too abrupt and odd. But as I said, in this fiercely competitive business with two giants dominating the market, I guess we should celebrate that Pentax is now shielded from uncertainties ;-). Anyway, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and all of our comrades here! Ken -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
