RiceHigh's Pentax Blog: Hoya Selling Pentax Camera Division and Businesses to Ricoh

Friday, July 01, 2011

Hoya Selling Pentax Camera Division and Businesses to Ricoh

See the latest official press release at Hoya's website (in English):-

http://www.hoya.co.jp/english/news/latest/d0h4dj0000001fv8-att/d0h4dj0000001fwi.pdf

In short, Pentax's camera division and all its businesses will be sold whilst Hoya will keep the more profitable businesses. So, Pentax is splitted and divided! :-(

The splitting is agreed to be completed on October 1 of 2011. Ricoh will pay 10 billion Japanese Yens (currently about US$124 millions) for the transaction. It should be noted that the ex-Pentax Corporation and Hoya reached an agreement and Hoya purchased Pentax in a total of 105 billion Japanese Yens in 2007. So, now it seems that the camera division of Pentax worths only less than 1/10 of the original value of the whole Pentax, when it was acquired 4 years ago.

Old Reported Stories:-

Hoya Founder's Grandson Calls Pentax Acquisition "Failure", Seeks Reforms (May 2010)

Hoya CEO Still Thinking to Sell Off Pentax (October 2009)

Finally, It is Done. (June 2007)

Hoya Swallows Pentax! (December 2006)

Comments (17)

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Vlad · 715 weeks ago

Good news. Pentax now will be loved child for photo, not for endoscope =)

+3 Vote up Vote down

Michael A. · 715 weeks ago

Ricoh has a history of following (admiring?) Pentax system, hence making K-mount lenses and cameras. By purchasing imaging division, It might have a chance to give Pentax (cameras) R&D more room to breathe, unlike profit only oriented Hoya. It may be an exiting time for Pentax ideas living only on its shelves. Will see...

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Mike · 715 weeks ago

Rice: new price of Pentax is just for camera division... without medical division (Hoya want only medical division). So not true about 1/10

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vcheng9 · 715 weeks ago

Does Hoya now keep the SMC patents in this sell-off agreement ?

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kadajawi · 715 weeks ago

I think there could have been worse buyers (or even Hoya shutting down the camera division). Ricoh wants to get into the DSLR business, so they are going to keep making Pentax DSLRs, and maybe invest more into it.

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Ying · 715 weeks ago

What's there to upset aout? Hoya is a horrible parent company as you youself have pointed out so many times before.

I see the new owner Ricoh as being muching nicer fit for Pentax.

Time to celebrate.

1 reply · active less than 1 minute ago

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vcheng9 · 715 weeks ago

I agree. Hoya took over Pentax in 08 just wanted to have Pentax's medical department. Ricoh takes over Pentax now and want to expand its camera business. There is a huge different on their intentions..

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Mage · 715 weeks ago

The worse may soon be over for Pentax cameras, without Hoya strangling any funding for progress. Big questions are whether Ricoh is capable of doing it intends and whether it might be too late to catch up. Pentax is so behind in AF, in flash, in lens line-up, in reputation, in market share, after years under Hoya.

1 reply · active 715 weeks ago

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Richard · 715 weeks ago

Sorry Mage, my KX is none of the above criticisms when compared to my other brand dslrs.

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Ying · 715 weeks ago

I posted this ar Dpreview, but I thought I'd share my thoughts here too:

Remember it all started? Right from the beginning Hoya NEVER wanted the Camera business, they were eyeing up only the medical division. They even voiced their plan to shut or sell on the Imaging System division, BEFORE the take over, more than once.

Most of the old guard Pentax management did NOT want to abandon the camera division, there were so much negative feeling about this, the deal went back and forth several times. Pentax at one stage threatened to walk out of the merge.

Hoya then persued an AGGRESIVE TAKE OVER initiative, ie, instead of a friendly merge via mutral agreements between the management team of the 2 company, they were trying to buy up majority of Pentax shared, thus entering the company as majority shareholder to TAKE OVER the company.

Pentax management of that time had a traitor and insider for Hoya. They end up device a tactic of promising not to shut down the Camera division thus facilitate a merge.

1 reply · active less than 1 minute ago

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Ying · 715 weeks ago

At the same time, Hoya had an internal power struggle. between the decendants of the founder's family and that one of the family daughter's husband. More than once, they were voicing the dissapointment about the merge and their intension to off load the Camera division.

Up until the merge, Pentax WAS profitable, not by a large margin but the camera business was already on the way of increased sales and profit. So there was not an immediate NEED for a rescure as some of you so wish to believe. I imaged Pentax would have done quite well without the Hoya episode.

Due to the extreme negative feelings Hoya stirred up by the possible shut down of the Imaging Systems division, they changed their tactic to find a buyer. Intead of trying to integrate teh camera business into their own porfolio and grow the business. Ie, at NO STAGE Hoya wanted to keep the camera business.

In order to find a buyer and a good price, the company needs to be proven to be profitable on a year to year basis. There are 2 ways of achiving this - by growing the company via mid to long term investiment or by cutting corners and instill a 'quick turn around'. They of course, choose the later.

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Ying · 715 weeks ago

Hence the increased price across the board - they made a calcuated assessment that a certain number of Pentaxians will always buy new equipment, whatever the price (up to a certain level). And it paid off for them.

Hence the reduced funding for R&D and research into new products. Hence the reduction in quality control.

Most of the R&D for the 645D and K-5 were all ready done. All they were waiting for is the right sensor.

There were never any synergy between Imaging system and other Hoya departments. I mean imaging the marketing oppotunity for such things as Pentax SMC branded filters.

In the end they achived their goal of year on year growth of profitability, BUT AT WHAT COST??? Key personnels and lens designers forced into retirement, lowered quality control, inflated price, short on real R&D results. Looks strong ont he outside but many of the good parts that made up Pentax had been lost or taken away. It's all bit of a fasade.

1 reply · active less than 1 minute ago

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Ying · 715 weeks ago

On the surface Pentax may have been profitable for the last 3 years, but that was result of inflated price - look at the market ownership breakdown, the market share hardly grow within that time. Ie, they sucked dry the loyal fans while at the same time, didn't really attract many new users.

I give you that Hoya is brilliant at business and bean counting tactics but UTTERLY sucks as a commited owner.

EVEN TAKE ALL OTHER AWAY, the fact is, Hoya NEVER WANTED THE CAMERA BUSINESS.

So you Hoya supports send all your love you want, you are no longer wanted - in fact you were never wanted in the first place.

Now compare this to Ricoh, who WANTED the Camera division and INTENDS to grow it.

The way I see it, since Hoya got the endo-rectum scope side of the business, they have the 'bottom' end of the deal.

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WKT · 715 weeks ago

Ying - thanks for the summary - I originally felt really bad about the deal ( 124 mill seems cheap for a whole camera company ) and felt that Pentax was doomed. But now I think that it is more like a light at the end of the tunnel. I think Ricoh got a bargain.

1 reply · active less than 1 minute ago

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Ying · 715 weeks ago

No problem. I hope for the best too!

At least we know Ricoh's intensions are sound! Wether that translates into real development, depends on how the integration and reboot is executed by the management.

If Ricoh give Pentax enough resource and time to do proper R&D, and hire back some of the talents that left during the Hoya episode, they will be on their right track.

First thing right now is to boost Petax engineer's morales and show them commitment. And let them do their magic.

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Michael A. · 715 weeks ago

Don't worry guys, Ricoh IS the camera company and always been. They are in copiers business for to stay around (hence buying last year an independent copiers giant IKON in USA) and should take care of Pentax just fine... :o)

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tipentax · 714 weeks ago

Why bash Hoya ? They've offered the 645D, now the Q, they have invest in the K-7/K-5 new body. Ok they stopped the lens developpement program, but now Pentax is profitable ! For me the pentax line-up has one fault : no real entry level DSLR, the K-r is too expensive. Hoya already was a good manager, but small and convervative, Ricoh is a much bigger industry player (with a direct consumer approach), which can invest a lot of money, as they do it since years, in fact since the 70's when they used the K mount !
What a good news !

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Friday, July 01, 2011

Hoya Selling Pentax Camera Division and Businesses to Ricoh

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