Private-equity firm TPG reportedly eyes Olympus investment
TOKYO — US private-equity firm TPG Capital made contact with a series of Japanese technology firms about a potential joint investment in some of Olympus’ businesses, people familiar with the matter said Friday.
The contacts between TPG and potential partners come as the scandal-hit maker of cameras and medical imaging equipment desperately seeks capital to shore up its balance sheet, which was deeply hit by a $1.5 billion loss-hiding scandal.
Blue-chips like Sony, Panasonic, Canon and Fujifilm, as well as South Korea’s Samsung Electronics, all were linked to potential ties with Olympus in media reports.
But any contacts between TPG and the technology firms are likely inconclusive at this stage, the people said.
Among the candidates raised, Panasonic president Fumio Ohtsubo said Tuesday that the company has no intention of investing capital in Olympus at this point, as it is still unclear how the situation will play out.
In an interview Thursday, Canon CEO Fujio Mitarai said the camera maker is not considering an alliance with Olympus and not in any discussions about the issue, while Samsung said it is not yet considering any capital tie-up with Olympus.
Olympus restated its accounts for the past five years and recently sued 19 of its current and former directors, including board president Shuichi Takayama, after deeming them responsible for either participating in or failing to prevent the accounting scandal.
The company’s future remains precarious, with investigations by Japanese police and overseas authorities ongoing while its shares remain on a watch list for possible delisting on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
But Olympus’ endoscope business retains a huge appeal, with a roughly 70 percent share of the global market for imaging devices used for internal diagnostic examinations.
Fujifilm said Friday that it had not held formal talks with TPG, while Sony, TPG and Olympus declined to comment.
TPG, which has $48 billion of capital under its management, repeatedly said in the past that the firm is willing to put $1 billion on the table for a single deal with a company in Japan.
In 2009, TPG proposed to Japan Airlines a $1.4 billion equity offer with American Airlines parent AMR and Oneworld partners, but the deal never came to fruition.
The latest report came a day after TPG was said to be in talks for a possible bid in bankrupt AMR.
Sources told The Wall Street Journal that the private-equity giant was eyeing a strategic partner for a potential investment in AMR, which filed for Chapter 11 protection in late November. Delta Air Lines and US Airways Group are also said to be circling a deal with AMR.