|
|
|
Thursday May 17, 11:07 AM
Japan's Pentax agrees to Hoya takeoverJapanese camera-maker Pentax has reached a preliminary agreement to be acquired by optical glass maker Hoya, a company official said Thursday, paving the way to set up a new major industry player. In a meeting Wednesday, Pentax president Takashi Watanuki informed Hoya chief executive officer Hiroshi Suzuki of the company's intention to back an acquisition by tender offer, Hoya spokeswoman Akiko Maeyama said.
"Details, including when to start the tender offer, will be discussed only after the agreement becomes official, but if everything goes smoothly it would take place as early as June," she said. Pentax Corp. had agreed last year on a share swap with Hoya Corp. but then scrapped the merger when Pentax shareholders complained they were getting a bad deal. But Pentax's president quit over the controversy and its new leadership has re-engaged in talks. Both companies have reported healthy profits. Analysts say their strengths would complement each other and put a combined company in a position to compete with sector heavyweights such as Olympus and Konica Minolta. Suzuki and Watanuki agreed Pentax would remain a subsidiary under Hoya while the board members of the camera maker would retain their current positions, Maeyama said. "We have also agreed to keep Pentax's three divisions -- camera, medical and optics," she added. Pentax spokesman Jiro Okamura only confirmed that company executives met Wednesday, declining to give further details.
|
|
Copyright ©
2007
AFP. All rights reserved. All information displayed in this section (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the contents of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presses.
|
