Olympus has Completed the Sale of its Imaging Business

Industry News

by Olaf von VossJanuary 5^th, 2021

As stated earlier in 2020, Olympus has decided to sell its imaging business to Japan Industrial Partners Inc. (JIP). Now, six months later, the deal appears to be sealed and the Olympus imaging business is no more.

This is just the final announcement on the long road to the sale of Olympus prestigious imaging business, which, get this, has been active since 1936. The new owner is a company called OM Digital Solutions, which in turn is a subsidiary of JIP. Whether or not we will see new camera-related products remains to be seen. Read our initial coverage of this story here.

Olympus has sold its imaging business

Effective Jan 1st 2021, OM Digital Soultions takes over the imaging business of Olympus and they claim to commence producing consumer products in the future:

We are pleased to announce that OM Digital Solutions Corporation commenced operations on January 1, 2021. OM Digital Solutions Corporation will continue to provide consumer products that have previously been manufactured and sold by Olympus.

OM Digital Solutions – press release

Former head of imaging at Olympus, Shigemi Sugimoto, will be the new representive director and president of OM Digital Solutions Inc. Everything from management, research & development, manufacturing and sales has been shifted over to OM Digital Solutions and the company claims to continue developing and marketing new products not only from the OM-D line, but also from the former Olympus PEN and Zuiko product lines.

Shigemi Sugimoto again (from press release):

The launch of this new company brings together a more focused and flexible organizational structure. Moving forward, this will allow the freedom to explore new business opportunities, enabling us to contribute to society with more passion than ever.

There is also a new website that has just been launched: OM Digital Solutions

Let’s wait and see what will happen in the future. Do you think we will see new exciting consumer and professional cameras from Olympus OM Digital Solutions in 2021? Is this something other manufacturers should be worried about?

Share your thoughts on the downfall of the Olympus Imaging division and the rise of OM Digital Solution in the comments below! What does this mean for other major manufacturers?

link: official press release (PDF)