Despite Sony having its own financial woes which have forced the company to sell its NYC headquarters for $1.1 billion and Sony City Osaki building for $1.2 billion, there are other Japanese electronic companies who have fared even worse. Olympus is one of those companies and, had it not been for the cash injections from Sony in the last year, there might not be an Olympus to report about. So what has Sony gained in this equation? By investing $645 million into Olympus, Sony has become the biggest shareholder in the company, controlling just under 11.5% of the company.

While not a controlling stake in the company which can dictate the direction of Olympus, Sony is the biggest shareholder which tends to get you some clout within a company. Sure Sony won’t be able to steer Olympus in any direction they please but that likely was never their intention. Instead, when/if Olympus bounces back, you can bet that Sony will make a hefty return on their investment. With such an investment in Olympus, Sony also has a brand new ally which can benefit both companies with future endeavors and can potentially help drop costs if both companies decide to share manufacturing plants and cross use technology. Maybe the fate of Memory Stick would have been far different if other companies had also offered the memory card format for their devices.

Discuss:

Do you think it was wise for Sony to invest in Olympus?

[Via Olympus]