Tokyo, Aug 05: Struggling Konica and Minolta merged today to form Konica Minolta Holdings Inc., Japan's fourth-largest camera and office equipment maker, a company spokesman said. Minolta shares, which were delisted in late July, will be exchanged for 0.621 Konica shares, which were to take the name of the holding company today, a company spokesman said.
Minolta Co. Ltd. will be dissolved as a company by October 01.
"We plan to release new digital cameras and other products with the new brand some time next year," said spokesman Katsuyuki Sakai.
The merger of the camera and office equipment makers, announced in January, was made "in order to survive amidst today's global competition", the new company said in a release today.
The company plans to cut 4,000 jobs from the combined workforce of 38,500 and reduce overlaps in plants and stores by March 2006, it said.
Konica Corp., a camera and film maker, and Minolta Co. Ltd., a camera, copier and printer firm, have jointly developed and produced copiers since 2000.
In the year to March 2006, the new company is targeting an operating profit of 150 billion yen (1.3 billion dollars) on sales of 1.3 trillion yen, making it the fourth-ranked photographic equipment maker in Japan behind leader Canon, Fuji Photo Film and Ricoh. Bureau Report