Panasonic in talks to buy Leica from Mr. Kaufmann

[marknorton]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Let me see, I'm running a company which is losing Y380bn this year, I want to close 40 factories and get out of the rice cooker and bread-making business and I think what else should I do? I know, I'll buy a loss-making German optics company, just in case my problems are not already bad enough...

[mooky]

R U M O R

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[Raf DeBoeck]

Never forget, bankers have a reason for their actions, spreading rumors or spreading particles of truth....

 

And I am talking serious bankers here, they actually do exist, (not speaking of the average London city bankers here, hence the situation of the country in question) but (far) eastern bankers are smart, they know how to do things and don't have the "fill my pocket before anything else" attitude they actually need to perform well in the interest of their respective firms.

 

I think the guy whom actually placed the rumor on the internet has a mission.... as mentioned S/E bankers are smart.

[Raf DeBoeck]

R U M O R

 

Very probably .... but one which will have a tail....

[andybarton]

What have the shares of the two companies done today?

[petermcwerner]

I The introduction of the green M8.2 has changed things completely and tripled the Leica value.

So now we do not only have a shutter that is less noisy, a screen that is scratch-proof but also the green color. Indeed, that is a great advance and compensates for the problems of the mechanical RF with superfast lenses and the necessity of an IR filter for every lens

[petermcwerner]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

What have the shares of the two companies done today?

I would not expect Panasonic shares to be influenced by such a rumor, that is peanuts for such a big corporation. Leica shares are nearly all in the hands of Dr. Kaufmann, there is practically no relevant sale on the German stock market

[barjohn]

Guy,

 

Dr. kaufman is reputed to be worth hundreds of million euros; however, it is unlikely that it is all liquid. It takes hard cash to make payrolls and continue paying employees when sales are in the tank. I don't think D-Lux 4 or M8.2 sales are enough in this market to sustain the company. I would guess that Leica's forecast loss is way under what it will actually be. It's stock is selling for 1/3 its price just 12 months ago. Lee went because he tried to change the company and it is entrenched in mechanical not electronics or digital. It reminds me of when I worked for Control Data Corporation. We were known for our super computers like the Cray 1. The mini-computer was just starting to take hold of the market and upstarts like DEC and others were starting to take away business with a new paradigm. It was hard for the culture to accept that mini-computers were anything but toys and might eventually compete and take away business. If you worked in anything but the main frame division you were a second class citizen. CDC is no more. IBM also almost fell the same way with the PC business started in its R&D lab in Boca Raton, FL. It was shunned by the major corporate folks in upstate New York. They let Microsoft eat away the large profit and market control they could have had. It almost cost them the company. DEC couldn't handle the transition to PC from mini-computers and went by the way side. Changing a cultural view is very hard work. Companies that can't adapt and change don't survive.

 

Panasonic understand digital and large scale high quality manufacturing, two things Leica needs. The Lumix brand lacks cache and Leica is relatively cheap so it would make sense for them to acquire it. As they have shown, they can take Leica lens designs and manufacture them at much lower cost. The sweet spot of the high end market appears to be just under $3k. With Panasonic manufacturing know how and large volume buying they could build and sell Leicas in that $2-3K market segment for a nice profit and compete with Nikon and Canon. It could be a win-win.

[andybarton]

It could be a win-win.

 

Only if you are willing to accept a Japanese/Chinese made, mass-produced "Leica".

 

That's not a Leica, in my book. A Leica is hand made, in Portugal these days, by people who care about what they are doing, more than just by turning up to work in the morning and running a factory line, alongside toasters and TVs

 

Will Panasonic still be servicing these "Leicas" in 30, 40 or 50 years time? I doubt it. That's one of the things that you are buying into when you pay that Leica premium, IMHO. The ability to put a camera made before your father was born into perfect working order.

[sdai]

Only if you are willing to accept a Japanese/Chinese made, mass-produced "Leica".

 

That's not a Leica, in my book. A Leica is hand made, in Portugal these days, by people who care about what they are doing, more than just by turning up to work in the morning and running a factory line, alongside toasters and TVs

 

Will Panasonic still be servicing these "Leicas" in 30, 40 or 50 years time? I doubt it. That's what you are buying into when you pay that Leica premium, IMHO. The ability to put a camera made before your father was born into perfect working order.

 

So you are saying Japanese/Chinese don't care about what they're doing?

 

I'm guessing BMW, Mercedes, VW don't care about what they're doing either because they all have factories in China now.

 

Geez, don't buy Louis Vuitton, don't buy Gucci, don't buy Escada, don't buy Hermes, boycott Versace, because they're all made in China now. LOL

 

You won't know where you are after 30, 40 years so why would you worry about a darned camera?

[andybarton]

Of course the Japanese and Chinese know what they are doing - they are very good at it.

 

 

But, they wouldn't make a "Leica" in the same way as they are made now. That may be a good or bad thing, of course, judging by what I read inthe M8 section sometimes...

[sdai]

But, they wouldn't make a "Leica" in the same way as they are made now. That may be a good or bad thing, of course, judging by what I read inthe M8 section sometimes...

 

How do you hand make a computer chip, Andy? you could see nothing wrong just by putting things under microscopes either.

 

The business is slow today, I'm now watching the top bankers being toasted on TV ... good to have some excitement on the board too.

[offshore]

Look at the bright side we could finally have a camera for everyone-The Panacea.

[sdai]

Look at the bright side we could finally have a camera for everyone-The Panacea.

 

Dealers must be pretty happy because this could be mean fast turnarounds for them too.

[Raf DeBoeck]

Of course the Japanese and Chinese know what they are doing - they are very good at it.

 

 

But, they wouldn't make a "Leica" in the same way as they are made now. That may be a good or bad thing, of course, judging by what I read inthe M8 section sometimes...

 

Leica's nowadays aren't made the way they use to be made....

 

Either they are rebadged Panasonics with very little failure percentage or actually Leica made by our EU friends from portugal .... you tell me what the current quality level is?

[Wolfgang Esslinger]

I just heard that Kaufmann is in talks with Hasselblad because they are panicking due to the coming S2. And Leica could really need their distribution system...

All compacts go to Panasonic who are also working on a M8 / G1 - bridge camera with M-mount.

 

So everybody will be happy: Leica moves firmly into the higher 4- and 5-digit Euro realm and becomes a pure professional and luxury brand. And Panasonic produces medium-priced M-mount digital cameras that work!

 

Sorry, no source. But I am sure you don't mind.

[stunsworth]

Are you sure this 'serious banker didn't just omit the indefinite article by mistake? Maybe Panasonic are thinking of buying 'a Leica', rather than 'Leica'.

[lct]

...they are panicking due to the coming S2...

[farnz]

Rumours, damned rumours, but no statistics.

(With apologies to Benjamin Disraeli.)

 

Pete.

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Interesting Leica gear

[andybarton]

Perhaps this is the "big news" that was rumoured to be coming in a thread a month or so ago.

 

Sorry - shouldn't throw fuel on the fire...