Sony-Olympus aims for high-tech surgery

Sony Corp's President and Chief Executive Officer Kazuo Hirai (L) and Olympus Corp's President Hiroyuki Sasa attend a joint news conference in Tokyo October 1, 2012. Sony Corp will pay 50 billion yen ($643.5 million) to become the biggest shareholder in Olympus Corp, and establish a company with the cash-strapped Japanese camera and endoscope maker to develop medical equipment.

Sony Corp's President and Chief Executive Officer Kazuo Hirai (L) and Olympus Corp's President Hiroyuki Sasa attend a joint news conference in Tokyo October 1, 2012. Sony Corp will pay 50 billion yen ($643.5 million) to become the biggest shareholder in Olympus Corp, and establish a company with the cash-strapped Japanese camera and endoscope maker to develop medical equipment.

Published Oct 1, 2012

Share

Sony's new alliance with scandal-tarnished Olympus will produce endoscopes and other surgical tools packed with the Japanese electronics and entertainment maker's three-dimensional imagery and super-clear display technology called 4K.

The plan to have both “3D and 4K” in such products were announced Monday by Sony Corp. President Kazuo Hirai at a joint news conference with Olympus Corp. President Hiroyuki Sasa at the Tokyo Chamber of Commerce.

The deal, announced Friday, calls for Sony to invest 50 billion yen ($640 million) to become the top shareholder in Olympus. Olympus needs to shore up its finances after a cover-up scandal of massive losses.

Hirai said Sony is aiming to control more than 20 percent of the surgery-medical equipment market by 2020. He said it couldn't do it alone and needed Olympus' expertise. - Sapa-AP

Related Topics: