• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe

MassDevice

The Medical Device Business Journal — Medical Device News & Articles | MassDevice

  • Latest News
  • Technologies
    • Artificial Intelligence (AI)
    • Cardiovascular
    • Orthopedics
    • Neurological
    • Diabetes
    • Surgical Robotics
  • Business & Finance
    • Wall Street Beat
    • Earnings Reports
    • Funding Roundup
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Initial Public Offering (IPO)
    • Legal News
    • Personnel Moves
    • Medtech 100 Stock Index
  • Regulatory & Compliance
    • Food & Drug Administration (FDA)
    • Recalls
    • 510(k)
    • Pre-Market Approval (PMA)
    • MDSAP
    • Clinical Trials
  • Special Content
    • Special Reports
    • In-Depth Coverage
    • DeviceTalks
  • Podcasts
    • MassDevice Fast Five
    • DeviceTalks Weekly
    • OEM Talks
      • AbbottTalks
      • Boston ScientificTalks
      • DeviceTalks AI
      • IntuitiveTalks
      • MedtechWOMEN Talks
      • MedtronicTalks
      • Neuro Innovation Talks
      • Ortho Innovation Talks
      • Structural Heart Talks
      • StrykerTalks
  • Resources
    • About MassDevice
    • DeviceTalks
    • Newsletter Signup
    • Leadership in Medtech
    • Manufacturers & Suppliers Search
    • MedTech100 Index
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • Whitepapers
    • Voices
Home » Will Olympus hold a fire sale to weather fee scandal?

Will Olympus hold a fire sale to weather fee scandal?

November 29, 2011 By MassDevice staff

Olympus

Olympus Corp. (TYO:7733) plans to examine its corporate structure as it struggles to keep its head above water amid an accounting scandal that’s slashed more than half the value from its stock price in six short weeks.

In an internal memo obtained and confirmed by Reuters, the Japanese endoscopy giant said it will review its organization and its corporate governance rules after admitting to hiding hundreds of millions of losses.

“They will make clear the optimal business structure and the proper profit structure to promote the steady further development of our business,” president Shuichi Takayama wrote to Olympus employees, according to the news service.

Sign up to get our free newsletters delivered straight to your inbox

The internal probes come amid speculation that Olympus will look to save its $2.6 billion endoscope business at any cost, including selling off other assets. The company’s under-performing camera business, its flagship microscopy unit, an industrial testing business and a mobile phone unit are all potential candidates for a fire sale.

With so much chum in the water, rival firms are keeping a close eye on the case, un-named investment banker told Reuters, which noted that bids are unlikely until the waters are a little clearer.

The internal panel will focus on a ¥30 billion ($384 million) overseas investment fund believed to be a so-called “tobashi” scheme designed to conceal losses, according to Reuters.

Japan’s SEC begins on-site probe

The Olympus investigators are likely to be working alongside Japanese securities regulators, as the Japanese Securities & Exchange Surveillance Commission has launched an on-site probe at the company’s Tokyo headquarters.

The SESC will seek in-house financial documents about the company’s M&A activities and will review how the company slid the investment losses off the books.

U.S. and U.K. authorities are conducting their own probes to find out whether Olympus broke any rules in their jurisdictions.

Yesterday, Akio Nakagawa, a key figure in the scandal, was found living in Hong Kong.

The Japanese banker, whose company received an unprecedented $687 million payout during the Tokyo-based technology giant’s $2.2 billion acquisition of the Gyrus Group in 2008, was found living in a luxury high-rise near Hong Kong’s financial district.

Filed Under: Legal News, News Well, Wall Street Beat Tagged With: Olympus

More recent news

  • SS Innovations completes first robotic cardiac surgery in the Americas
  • GI Windows wins FDA nod for magnet tech
  • China reportedly launches country’s first invasive BCI trial
  • Neuralink files to raise $649M in new equity offering
  • BofA: Surgical robot remanufacturing not a major setback for Intuitive

Primary Sidebar

“md
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest med device regulatory, business and technology news.

DeviceTalks Weekly

See More >

MEDTECH 100 Stock INDEX

Medtech 100 logo
Market Summary > Current Price
The MedTech 100 is a financial index calculated using the BIG100 companies covered in Medical Design and Outsourcing.
MDO ad

Footer

MASSDEVICE MEDICAL NETWORK

DeviceTalks
Drug Delivery Business News
Medical Design & Outsourcing
Medical Tubing + Extrusion
Drug Discovery & Development
Pharmaceutical Processing World
MedTech 100 Index
R&D World
Medical Design Sourcing

DeviceTalks Webinars, Podcasts, & Discussions

Attend our Monthly Webinars
Listen to our Weekly Podcasts
Join our DeviceTalks Tuesdays Discussion

MASSDEVICE

Subscribe to MassDevice E-Newsletter
Advertise with us
About
Contact us

Copyright © 2025 · WTWH Media LLC and its licensors. All rights reserved.
The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media.

Privacy Policy