[nikomat 20810] Re: Fw: Cosina acquires Leica!!!

[TANABE Hayao <tanabe@strl.nhk.or.jp>]

わははー、さすがに規模が大きいや。
でもほんとだとうれしいのにな。


At 10:24 PM -0700 2001.4.1, Ken Iisaka wrote:
> 飯坂＃サンフランシスコはまだ日曜日です。
>
> ライカ社とコシナ社からの共同発表があったようです。
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> Subject: Cosina acquires Leica!!!
>
>
> > Press Release - for Immediate publication
> >
> > The President of Cosina Co. Ltd., Hirofumi KOBAYASHI and the Chairman of
> > Leica Camera AG’s Management Board, Hanns-Peter COHN, jointly announced
> the
> > acquisition of all of Leica Camera AG's shares and assets by Cosina Co.
> Ltd.
> > The aquisition was completed on March 31, 2001, and the offer of 15.00
> Euro
> > per share exceeded the price of 12.50 Euro at which Hermes acquired 30% of
> > the share capital of Leica Camera AG, in December, 2000.
> >
> > Leica Camera AG’s Management Board declares it is a mutually beneficial
> > relationship in which Leica Camera, now a wholly owned subsidiary of
> Cosina
> > Co. Ltd. now has access to the capital and manufacturing capability of
> > Cosina Co. Ltd., and Cosina Co. Ltd., now has access to the rights to use
> > the name, Leica, for photographic equipment.
> >
> > Mr. Kobayashi and Mr. Cohn said, in a joint statement, "The union of two
> > companies signifies the cooperation of different worlds, and will forge
> the
> > brand name, "Leica", as the leader of photographic equipment into the 21st
> > century.
> >
> > Effective immediately, Cosina's line of cameras and lenses compatible with
> > Leica will be renamed as "Leica-C" and the current name, "Voigtlander"
> will be
> > dropped.  Mr. Kobayashi said in a statement, "The use of the brand name
> > Voigtlander was admittedly controversial.  With the acquisition of Leica
> > Camera AG, we can put history behind us, and offer Cosina products as
> > entry-level Leica products, under the Leica brand name."
> >
> > In response, Mr. Cohn said in a statement, "The reintroduction of Cosina
> > products as entry-level Leica products fill the product line in which
> > products offer tremendous quality competitive with other Japanese
> products,
> > while the current Leica product line will remain as the pinnacle of
> > photographic technology.  The owners of the Leica-C equipment can always
> > upgrade to the Leica line of products without a significant reinvestment."
> >
> > Together, Mr. Kobayashi and Mr. Cohn jointly announced new products
> bearing
> > the name, "Leica-C" as follows:
> >
> >      R2001 reflex camera body
> >      Vario-Elmarit 1:2.5/28-70mm lens for reflex cameras.
> >      Vario-Elmarit 1:2.8/14-28mm lens for reflex cameras.
> >      Naganon 1:8/10mm rectilinear ultra wide angle lens for Leica
> > screwmount, bayonet mount cameras.
> >
> > Mr. Cohn said, "These are products that Leica Camera AG tried to deliver,
> > but was unable to within its capabilities.  With the manufacturing
> > facilities of Cosina, we are now able to provide new Leica products
> without
> > straining the production capabilities in Portugal and Solms.  It's a
> win-win
> > situation for Cosina and Leica, and the real winner is the Leica user
> > community."
> >
> > In addition, to commemorate the acquisition of Leica Camera AG by Cosina
> Co.
> > Ltd., Mr. Kobayashi and Mr. Cohn jointly announced a new commemorative
> model
> > of the rangefinder camera, M6.  The body is painted in the colour of
> cherry
> > blossoms, now in full bloom in Nagano, and the inscription, "Leica" on the
> > top place was replaced by the name, "Cosina."  The production is limited
> to
> > 2001, and will be available through authorised Leica and Cosina dealers
> > worldwide.
> >
> > Leica Camera AG, which originally comes from Optische Werke Ernst Leitz’s
> > photo division founded in 1849, is specialised in very high quality optics
> > and cameras. It is famous world-wide, in particular thanks to its
> legendary
> > Leica M6 camera and its high precision binoculars.
> >
> > Cosina Co. Ltd, a leading manufacturer of optical instruments traces its
> > origin to Nikoh Co., founded in 1959 as a lens manufacturer.  It has since
> > developed into a manufacturer of an extensive line of optical instruments,
> > from photographic lenses and LCD projector optics.
> >
> > Nagano, Japan, April 1, 2001