Olympus Has Sold Its Camera And Imaging Business Yeah Seriously

There were rumours in November that Olympus would shut down its camera business within 8 months, which was flat out denied by Olympus.  Now, here we are, 8 months later, after several years of speculation and rumour and more denial, Olympus has indeed sold its camera and imaging business to a company called Japan Industrial Partners (JIP). It’s like “Surprise!” but not really. Olympus posted the notification of signing a Memorandum of Understanding to the Olympus website, stating that Olympus had sold its imaging business to JIP. The legally-binding deal, they say, will be completed by September 30th, 2020. Here’s the complete statement from Olympus… Exactly what will happen for the future of Olympus as the “NewCo” company transitions the Olympus Imaging business over to JIP remains to be seen. But as a business that’s been making some pretty big losses over the last few years, it seems like the smart move from the Olympus camp. Let’s just hope that JIP can turn things around and bring Olympus back to its former glory. Olympus Corporation (“Olympus”) and Japan Industrial Partners, Inc. (“JIP”) hereby announce that, today, the parties signed a memorandum of understanding to carveout Olympus’s Imaging business to a new company (“NewCo”) and subsequently transfer its shares to a fund managed, operated or otherwise handled by JIP (the “Transaction”). After the due diligence and further discussions and negotiations, the parties are aiming to sign a legallybinding definitive agreement for the Transaction (the “Definitive Agreement”) by September 30, 2020. We will promptly make further announcement if any matters relating to the Transaction that needs further announcement occur. After 84 years in business, it would suck to see the Olympus name disappear from cameras – or simply turn into a shadow of its former self, like Kodak and Polaroid, licensing its name and brand to the highest bidder. If this has been in the works for a while, though, it might explain why several more companies were added to the Micro Four Thirds System Standard Group earlier this year. If Olympus is stepping away from cameras and JIP decides it doesn’t want to deal with that anymore, then Panasonic is going to need new playmates while they’re busy focusing on the S1 series. [via 43Rumors]