by Makiko Yamazaki
TOKYO, Aug 29 (Reuters) – Olympus on Monday announced an agreement to sell its microscopes subsidiary to U.S. private equity fund Bain Capital for 427.6 billion yen (3.1 billion euros), which would be its largest big sale never made.
The sale of its Evident division, which notably manufactures microscopes and X-ray analyzers, comes as Olympus accelerates the overhaul of its business portfolio to focus solely on medical technology.
The unit is due to be transferred to Bain Capital on Jan. 4, subject to regulatory approvals in Japan and overseas.
As part of its strategic overhaul, Olympus brought activist investor ValueAct Capital to its board, bought up several overseas medical equipment companies and sold its long-running digital camera business. deficit.
The value of Olympus stock has nearly tripled since the company began to reorganize in early 2019.
Olympus, which has been making microscopes for more than a century, spun off that unit in April for potential sale, despite its profitability.
The Evident division anticipates an operating profit of 26.5 billion yen for the current financial year. (Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Clarence Fernandez; French version Elena Vardon, editing by Kate Entringer)