14 DAY TRIAL // Amidst losses of hundreds of millions and a fraud scandal to which its former employees have pleaded guilty, Olympus isn't doing so hot. In fact, it is doing so badly that it has had no choice but to accept selling a majority stake in one of its most important businesses.
This would not have been so ironic if it hadn’t been Sony that bought those 51% of the shares in the Olympus medical imaging technology business arm.
While the $650 Million / 502 Million Euro will do Olympus good, certain parties won't stay blind to the irony of a former rival getting a controlling stake.
That doesn't mean the deal isn't convenient though. It includes several other entries as well, most relevant of which is a component-sharing agreement in the photography space. Olympus mirror cells and camera lenses will be given to Sony, while the latter will provide Olympus with image sensors.
Sony now has an overall voting right of 11.46% in Olympus as a whole.