Sony has bought itself an 11% stake in Olympus for 50 billion yen (approx. £400 million), becoming the firm's largest shareholder.
On top of that, Sony is due to hold a 51% stake in a new Sony-Olympus company set up to develop and manufacture medical equipment. Sony's skills and knowledge in the fields of 3D and Quad HD/4K have been cited as a core basis for developing the firm's future medical imaging equipment.
Sony evidently sees the medical sector as a key market for future growth at a time when the group is seeing losses in some of its major consumer tech businesses. In fact, Sony plans to slash 10,000 jobs between March 2011 and March 2013.
The partnership will inevitably bring the firms' camera and imaging businesses closer together. In fact, Olympus has already started switching to Sony sensors in its cameras—a trend that's certain to continue.
On top of that, Sony is due to hold a 51% stake in a new Sony-Olympus company set up to develop and manufacture medical equipment. Sony's skills and knowledge in the fields of 3D and Quad HD/4K have been cited as a core basis for developing the firm's future medical imaging equipment.
Sony evidently sees the medical sector as a key market for future growth at a time when the group is seeing losses in some of its major consumer tech businesses. In fact, Sony plans to slash 10,000 jobs between March 2011 and March 2013.
The partnership will inevitably bring the firms' camera and imaging businesses closer together. In fact, Olympus has already started switching to Sony sensors in its cameras—a trend that's certain to continue.
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