> From: Bill <anotherdrunken...@gmail.com> > > On 12/11/2013 6:10 AM, Mark Roberts wrote: > >> >> Did Nikon shooters get their panties in a bunch when Nikon was bought >> by Mitsubishi in the 1970's? >> >> > No. When I pointed out on another forum that Nikon was just a Mitsubishi > brand name, I was given a really long lecture about Mitsubishi's > "Keiretsu", and how Nikon isn't "owned" by anyone other than Nikon. I > suspect it was a Nikon fan boy, or it may have just been a pompous piece > of shit. They are hard to tell one from the other. > The link that Darren gave was interesting up to the point where the guy > crossed out Pentax and Hoya and at that point I wrote him off as another > sniveling internet fuckhead with the brains of a small rutabaga. Pity, > he may have had something smart to say and spoiled it by coming across > like a retarded root vegetable. > > bill
Unfortunately I think you're wrong on that Bill. I did the research, and if I can believe what I read, Nikon is not just another Mitsubishi brand name, as Pentax is for Ricoh. Nikon is part of the Mitsubishi Group "Keiretsu" and member companies own shares of each others stock and therefore have a mutual interest in one another's well-being. Nikon is an independent corporation in that it's shares continue to be publicly traded and it reports independent financial results separate from all other members of the group. If it were struggling member companies of the group could decide what to do. It has it's own executives and board of directors. History we all know: That 's far different from Asahi Optical (Pentax) ceasing to exist as a corporation in 2008. When Hoya wanted to unload the Pentax camera business in 2011, it created the subsidiary Pentax Imaging Corporation. Ricoh bought all shares of that temporary entity and the combined companies were called Pentax Ricoh Imaging Company. In 2013 it simply became Ricoh Imaging with Pentax as a brand. Hoya also continues to use the Pentax name for the parts of the business it did not sell to Ricoh, mainly the medical division. Does that mean anything? It depends what one wishes to extrapolate. What it says to me (and I believe you) is that Asahi Optical had a long history of making bad decisions. That made it it vulnerable and at risk. It led to it finally be acquired and becoming non-existent as a corporate business entity. That of course is different than saying you can't purchase a new Pentax camera. Tom C. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
