In what would be the Japanese company’s largest ever divestiture, Olympus Corp (7733.T) announced on Monday that it had agreed to sell its microscope unit to private equity firm Bain Capital for 427.6 billion yen ($3.1 billion).
The sale of the division, which also produces x-ray analyzers and industrial endoscopes, comes as Olympus accelerates the restructuring of its corporate structure to concentrate only on medical technology.
Subject to permission from antitrust authorities in Japan and overseas, the unit will be transferred to Bain on January 4 of the following year.
Olympus stated in a statement that the transfer to Bain would be in its best interests to enable the company to expand with more swift and adaptable decisions based on market demands.
According to people with firsthand information, Bain defeated multinational private equity firms including Carlyle Group (CG.O) and KKR & Co (KKR.N).
Since it began to reorganize itself at the beginning of 2019, its shares have nearly tripled.
Although it was successful, Olympus, which started more than a century ago as a domestic microscope manufacturer, split off the unit in April for a future sale.
By June, the unit had 165 billion yen in assets, and it anticipated an operating profit of 26.5 billion yen for the current fiscal year.
About Olympus
The Japanese company Olympus Corporation produces devices for optics and reprography. On October 12, 1919, Olympus was founded, initially specializing in thermometers and microscopes. Olympus controls over 70% of the global endoscope market, which is thought to be valued at about US$2.5 billion. Its global headquarters are in Tokyo, Japan’s Shinjuku district.
When Olympus removed its CEO in 2011, it received international media attention. The situation quickly grew into a corporate corruption probe that resulted in numerous arrests. In 2016, it paid $646 million in fines for kickbacks.
Olympus was administered by a 15-person board of directors, with Tsuyoshi Kikukawa serving as president and CEO and Michael C. Woodford serving as president and chief operating officer, according to its 2011 Annual Report.
After being detained by Tokyo police for alleged criminal charges committed during and before his tenure as president and CEO, Mr. Kikukawa resigned the next year. Three “outside directors” served the corporation in 2011.
It had a four-person “Board of Auditors” that oversaw and examined the work of the directors. The business’s executive committee, which had 28 members, oversaw daily operations.
About Bain Capital
Boston is home to the American private investment company Bain Capital. It focuses on credit, public equity, impact investing, private equity, life sciences, and real estate.
Various industry categories and geographical areas are covered by Bain Capital’s investments. By 2022, the company was in charge of managing about $160 billion in investor money.
In 1984, colleagues from the consulting company Bain & Company launched the business. With 22 locations in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia, the business has its headquarters at 200 Clarendon Street in Boston.
Since its founding, the company has made investments in or acquired hundreds of businesses, including AMC Theatres, Artisan Entertainment, Aspen Education Group, Apex Tool Group, Brookstone, Burger King, Burlington Coat Factory, Canada Goose.
As a result of co-founder Mitt Romney’s later political career, particularly his 2012 presidential campaign, the business and its decisions during its first 15 years came under political and media criticism.
Read More : Edtech startup Sunstone raises $35 million in Series C Funding