Fujifilm mulls equity alliance with Olympus

Japan's Fujifilm Holdings said Wednesday it is considering supporting scandal-hit endoscope maker Olympus Corp although neither side looks likely to move quickly on an equity alliance that Olympus needs to shore up its finances.

A $1.7 billion accounting fraud has severely depleted Olympus' net assets, but it is being supported by major Japanese shareholders who prefer bringing in an equity partner to selling the whole company or its assets.

Its flexible diagnostic endoscope business, which boasts a 70 percent market share, is seen as a jewel of profitability in Japan's lackluster electronics industry.

"We can only say at this stage that we are considering (supporting Olympus)," Fujifilm President Shigetaka Komori told Reuters in an interview.

"There would be synergies in the endoscope field...It is a given that any company with a medical business would be interested."

Fujifilm, along with Sony, Panasonic and Samsung is among firms that media reports and market talk have put into the frame as potential partners for Olympus, although Olympus' president, Shuichi Takayama, said yesterday that his company had not been in specific talks with any of those firms.

An equity investment in Olympus by Fujifilm, which holds about 10 to 15 percent of the global diagnostic endoscope market, could trigger a review by Japan's antimonopoly watchdog, the Fair Trade Commission.

Takayama also said Olympus would wait until after a management overhaul in late April to bring in a potential strategic partner.