According to NHK, Panasonic found a buyer for its professional projector business. The investor Orix is said to be paying the equivalent of around 580 million euros.
Panasonic’s professional projectors are an institution – whether it’s Olympics opening ceremonies, concerts or projection mapping – AV experts often rely on Panasonic projectors, which come in many form factors all the way up to the size of washing machines. Now the Japanese group wants to separate from its small but profitable business. Rumors were already circulating in May, and now Japanese media are reporting that the deal has been completed.
According to NHK, Panasonic Holding has decided to sell its B2B projector business to the Japanese financial group Orix. Orix is one of the largest financial service providers and is also active as a financial investor worldwide. The Japanese public broadcaster cites people familiar with the transaction who put the sales price for the carve-out of the projector business at around 100 billion yen (580 million euros). An official announcement is to be published shortly.
invidis comment
For Panasonic’s projection division, the carve-out and the new owners could give them the freedom they need to focus fully on further development. Not only in the hardware area but also in particular on software and supplementary services.
The takeover by a financial investor rather than a strategic buyer such as one of the Chinese electronics groups has the advantage for the team that they can maintain the B2B focus.
