Report says Japanese government wants Fuji to “help” Nikon by buying a stake in it
Jun 7, 2017
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
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This is an odd and unexpected bit of potential news. I say potential because at the moment it’s mostly a rumour. But it’s quite an interesting thought. Nikon has been struggling, there’s no two ways about it. In Nikon’s own financial report they cite an “extraordinary loss” of around 53 billion yen (~$485 million). This resulted in 1,000 job cuts and completely dropping the newly planned line of DL cameras.
The respected Sentaku magazine reports in its June issue that the Japanese government is trying to find a company that can help Nikon. But that’s where the story starts to get a little confusing. The June issue is not available online. Fuji Rumors continue the story based off a Japanese blog relaying the point of the article.
The Google translation of that blog post is a little… Well, it’s Google translate, so it’s not very good (Note : Sentaku becomes “Selection” in the translation). It’s possible that it’s a misinterpretation, but it suggests that Fujifilm is being asked to buy a stake in Nikon. The speculation is that it is an attempt prevent Nikon from falling into the hands of an overseas investor from China, South Korea or Taiwan.
Fuji Rumors doesn’t believe this would be a complete acquisition, simply a percentage stake in the Nikon company. This wouldn’t be without precedent. Sony bought a stake in Olympus a few years ago when they were struggling, too.
Nikon Rumors are, naturally, sceptical of the information, given how it seems to have come out. They note similar rumours about Samsung and Sony which also weren’t true. They also know that the penalties for leaking information like this can be severe.
But an update from Sentaku “confirms” that the rumour is correct. There’s only an excerpt available on the website if you don’t have a subscription.
“Nikon relief” FUJIFILM emerged
“Beginners” are Mitsubishi UFJ and the Ministry of International Trade and IndustryJune 2017 issue
Reconstruction observation of Nikon and Fujifilm Holdings (HD) prestigious precision equipment including single lens reflex cameras is rapidly emerging. It is said that it is said that it is said that the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the main bank of Nikon, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ
And that’s where the excerpt ends. If you have access to the complete article, please let us know in the comments.
It’s likely that if such an investment from Fuji were to happen, not much would change for consumers. Both the Nikon and Fuji brands are too big to try to assimilate one into the other. So, it’s unlikely that we’ll start seeing X-Trans sensors in Nikon bodies, or Fuji going back to producing DSLRs.
Although, Nikon and Fuji have cooperated on equipment before. Fuji’s line of DSLRs had Nikon mounts and were based around Nikon F80 & D200 bodies. And while the chances are slim, we might finally see Nikon produce a decent mirrorless with some Fuji assistance. Ok, maybe not, but we can always hope.
Despite the “confirmation” post from Sentaku, I’d still not put much stock into it just yet. Neither company have made an official statement either confirming or denying the suggestion. They may not do for some time, depending on where they may be in negotiations. And that’s only if there are any happening.
If it’s not true, though, I would bet that one or both companies would issue a statement declaring so very quickly.
[via Fuji Rumors]
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
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12 responses to “Report says Japanese government wants Fuji to “help” Nikon by buying a stake in it”
Just thinking…
Fujikon?
Funikon?
Nifuji?
Nikonji?
Niji?
Fukon?
Funijikonfilm
Did you write this on no sleep? It felt like you spent the entire article trying not to say whatever it is you wanted to say.
This is fake news. Busted. Shame on you for even wasting this many words on it…
It started on some guy’s blogspot where he was speculating, then other sources added some more “info” to make it more “credible” to get more clicks and a few others did that too and you walked into it with your eyes wide open.
That is correct, the initial report was based on thin air, then a reader (Mistral75) found Sentaku’s article which nobody has read yet because it’s behind a paid wall. It doesn’t even matter what the articles says, the way this was reported was nothing more than fake news/clickbait.
Saving Nikon by tieing a rock to it.
This story was debunked already. Do some proper fact checking before reporting fake news stories. Nikon is not in financial trouble even. The “extraordinary losses” were financial mumbo jumbo for writing off extra inventory and assets, and was inferred primarily from Nikon’s medical division. https://nikonrumors.com/2017/06/06/about-that-fuji-helping-nikon-rumor.aspx/
Although in principle you are correct much of the extraordinary expenses was because of early retirement of R&D personnel. Also it is not uncommon in Japan to push for this kind of parenting, see Mitsubishi and Nissan
COO KOO
You forget to mention that they ‘extraordinary loss’ was something known about for some time, as it was severe damage to their lithography unit from the earthquake in Japan. ‘Extraordinary loss’ is an accounting term, not an ‘oh shit’ term. Literally just means that it was a loss outside the norm.
Said damage to lithography unit was also a part of why the DL line was killed. That and by the time they got it to market because of issues like that, it would already be years behind the curve. I expect them to come back upgraded within the next year or so though. Makes sense to wait a touch and go from a good prosumer P&S to a fantastic one. Granted this depends on the below comments about the D810 replacement. If that doesn’t come out this summer, that is a sign they are in big trouble.
The ‘layoffs’ were largely early retirement packages.
Yes, they are restructuring the top end of the company, but if they are smart, they’ll come out better for it. They are paring down the lower end camera lines and focusing on regaining market share in the Pro market. Considering they just announced the first camera with a modified Sony backlit sensor, I firmly believe they are going to have an epic announcement within the next 3 weeks for 1-2 full frame bodies.
Most likely a triple layer 46-52mp backlit sensor in the D810 replacement and maybe a backlit sensor D750. Same body and size package for both, so manufacturing is easier, but new sensor, processor, upgraded AF and ISO.
“Help”, or even “save” is probably not the right choice of words. Nikon will be around forever. So will Canon. The connection to Fuji is not a matter of good or bad. They’ve worked together before. (The Fuji S5 was based on a Nikon.) Sony had a stake in Olympus come to think of it.
Why don’t Mitsubishi help Nikon? Nikon isn’t a part of Mitsubishi? I don’t understand?