Comments on: Sony and Canon attempt to purchase Pentax?

By: astrophotographer

astrophotographer — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 21:33:22 +0000

Nikon is an independent company. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation owns 2%.

http://www.nikon.com/about/ir/stock_info/status/index.htm

By: Catastrophile

Catastrophile — Sun, 30 May 2010 22:56:08 +0000

you need to understand that the relation between the companies under one umbrella is very very weak! and even within one company if a division (say camera/imaging division versus microscope/medical division within Olympus) if a division is not so profitable the other divisions will not accept to support it forever. In conclusion what matters to the prosperity & success of Nikon cameras as a business is not the Mitsubishi group or Nikon Co. but how well these cameras and photo equipment sell.

By: Oly

Oly — Sun, 30 May 2010 04:49:13 +0000

@Catastrophile

Sony has total assets of $139 billion. Absolutely no comparison with Mitsubishi UFJ.

You have to understand, the Mitsubishi Group isn’t a single company, they are a group of companies so if you’re looking a ranking of a list of companies the Mitsubishi group companies are split up.

Let’s put it this way, Canon is part of the Fuyo Group. Which also includes companies like Hitachi, Yamaha, Ricoh, and Nissan.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuyo_Group

This is why Japanese mergers and acquisitions are handled in a very organized way. For instance, when Mitsubishi Motors was sold by the Mitsubishi Group to Daimler Chrysler, after the company was run into the group by Daimler (along with Chrysler) the company was brought back into the Mitsubishi Group.

For Nikon to be purchased by a company like Sony or Canon, they would need to go through Mitsubishi Group Keiretsu. They are protected from hostile takeovers and being out right bought out.

By: Alex S.

Alex S. — Sat, 29 May 2010 12:08:04 +0000

Yawn. The sky is falling, the sky is falling… we only heard that for decades.
No, this is not rumor – is BS.

By: mark

mark — Sat, 29 May 2010 11:58:07 +0000

Well, japanese corporations work differently than their american counterparts.

By: Catastrophile

Catastrophile — Sat, 29 May 2010 08:04:39 +0000

so what “$1.8 trillion”?! as long as you don’t have other numbers for comparison, this doesn’t mean much! i remember seeing a list of the top companies in japan recently and among the top 5 were Toyota and Canon, so Canon is comparable to Toyota and the latter is biggest car maker! I am sure Sony is huge too.

By: Thor

Thor — Sat, 29 May 2010 00:43:28 +0000

Nikon is part of the Mitsubishi Group.

Which means they are richer then both Sony or Canon. Mitsubishi UFJ alone, the big dog in the Mitsubishi groups, has $1.8 trillion in assets (thats with a “T”).

By: Just A Thought

Just A Thought — Sat, 29 May 2010 00:06:34 +0000

Wonder who will be first bidder for NIkon ?

By: Catastrophile

Catastrophile — Fri, 28 May 2010 21:21:08 +0000

I think it might be easier to just indicate who didn’t try to buy Pentax!

By: petnax

petnax — Fri, 28 May 2010 18:43:01 +0000

why not:
Hoya is selling Pentax to Pentax

By: Mark

Mark — Fri, 28 May 2010 15:15:58 +0000

It would be bad if Canon or Sony bought Pentax, but JVC or someone with deep pockets committed to competing in the market would be great.

Mark