Sony And Olympus To Form A Surgical Endscope JV

Sony Corp. (6758) will take on a JPY 50 billion (USD 640 million) private placement of Olympus Corp. (7733) for slightly more than 1,400 yen a share and become Olympus' top shareholder, with a roughly 11% stake. The capital ratio of scandal-tainted Olympus fell as low as 2.2% at the end of June. The share issuance to Sony is expected to lift the ratio to around 10%.

Sony and Olympus will establish a joint venture to develop endoscopes making the most of Sony image sensor and 3-D imaging technologies, with a focus on a type used in keyhole surgery. Olympus is the world's top manufacturer of gastroenterological endoscopes with its 70% market share, but the company trails foreign rivals in surgical endoscopes.

Recently, Sony has funded JPY 57 billion through the sale of its chemical business to the DBJ - Union consortium, while Olympus has sold its mobile phone retailer subsidiary to Japan Industrial Partners for JPY 53 billion.