Hey Guys, it's nice to nice Minolta is being agressive and competitive in
the "real" camera world. They purchased Konica, on the negative flip side of
it, some employees will be losing their jobs, which is always a sad thing to
see in any case. Personally, in my opinion, I've never been in favor of mergers
or acquistions of any kind, because I feel it chokes off competition, but
that's another story, because everyone is doing it.
It would be nice to see Olympus team-up or align with someone, to make them
more of a force in the SLR camera market. "The Big Boys".
Minolta, Konica will merge
The Associated Press
TOKYO - Japanese camera and photocopier makers Minolta and Konica said Tuesday
that they have decided to merge in an effort to keep up with competition.
Minolta, the sixth-largest precision instrument maker in Japan, will join
Konica, the fourth-largest, as equal partners under the holding company Konica
Minolta Holdings this summer, the companies said.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The companies -- both household names in Japan -- will market most of their
products as Konica-Minolta goods. Photographic film will carry the Konica
brand, while cameras will remain under the Minolta name.
By joining forces, officials at Minolta and Konica say they are hoping for a
better chance of competing against the industry giants such as Canon, Fuji,
Xerox and Sony.
"Personally, I believe very strongly that by integrating the two companies, we
are on our way to becoming a powerhouse," Konica President Fumio Iwai told
reporters Tuesday.
The companies say they hope to gain an edge in global competition by working
together to develop products at a time when cameras, copiers and other machines
must link up with digital networks.
They have worked together previously on research and have had a business
alliance since 2000 making photocopiers and printers.
But the deal could also result in the elimination of 4,000 jobs, or about 10
percent of their combined work force, by 2005, the companies said.
The combined group has annual sales totals of about $8 billion, but they expect
their combined sales will rise to $11 billion by fiscal 2005.
Minolta, founded in 1928, has 21,932 employees and had revenues of 510.9
billion yen last year. Konica, established in 1873, has 17,319 employees and
had revenues of 539.6
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