MASSDEVICE ON CALL — Olympus Corp.’s (TYO:7733) new president & chairman Tsuyoshi Kikukawa quit amid the ongoing scandal over financial advisor fees, which has cut the company’s market value in half in less than two weeks.
Kikukawa took over the corner office on October 14 after Michael Woodford, who had been on the job for about two weeks, questioned the $687 million paid to two financial advisors during a $2.2 billion acquisition of Gyrus Group in 2008.
Woodford took his concerns to the public and to the U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office after he was terminated, and Olympus shares plummeted more than 50 percent from an opening price of ¥2,482 Friday, Oct. 14, to yesterday’s close at ¥1,189.
The FBI has also taken an interest in the record-breaking advisor payments, Woodford said.
Kikukawa was succeeded by Olympus’ camera division head Shuichi Takayama, Bloomberg Businessweek reported.
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